His Salvation
by thecornergirl
Summary: Edward can't wait to get out of Forks the second he graduates and he won't let anything or anyone hold him back. What will he do when the new girl, Bella, captures his attention and he discovers everything he didn't know he was looking for? AU/human
1. Chapter 1

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to the lovely Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.**

**Bella**

I really didn't want to be here. Thirty minutes and already I was so homesick I could barely breath. I didn't think I'll be able to do this, I don't know why I thought I could.

Here was at my father's house in Forks, Washington where I had no friends and it tended to rain more days then it had any right to. Home was my mom's house in Phoenix, Arizona where I still had no friends, but it was usually sunny and warm. I threw my bags on the floor and plopped down on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. Charlie, my dad, was downstairs shuffling around in the kitchen, I assumed that he was giving me space and some time to settle in. Give me all the time in the world Charlie, I'm never going to feel settled here. I heaved a big sigh, wiped a traitor tear off of my cheek and went to look out my window. It was cloudy and raining. Big surprise.

My parents split up when I was just a baby. I have no memory of them together as a couple. My dad still has pictures hung around the house of the three of us as a family, before mom left, taking me with her. Whenever I look at the pictures of the three of us together I felt like I was peeking in on someone else's life, it's a feeling that always left me a little disconnected., like I didn't belong anywhere. Maybe I would ask Charlie to take the pictures down.

My parents both grew up in Forks, if things had been different I would have too. Shortly after they graduated high school they got married, and soon after that I came along. From the story the pictures downstairs tell we had a good six months together before my mom Renee packed the two of us up and left Forks behind, Charlie and all. We'd been living in Phoenix ever since. It's not perfect but it's a lot better then Forks.

I wasn't looking forward to this move. I'd spent summers at Charlie's most of my life and never really enjoyed it. I've always been more of a city person and Forks your typical small town. Charlie and I had never really been close, and from the awkward ride home from the airport I'd hazard a guess that that wasn't going to change any time soon. It's funny though, because when it comes down to it I've always been more like my father then my mom, and yet Renee and I have always been more like friends and Charlie and I seemed more like strangers. While my mom is care-free and impulsive my dad is down-to-earth and a rock, more solid then anyone else I knew. Where my mom is out-going and light hearted my dad has always been quiet and serious. It's weird that I seemed to take more after the parent that I've spent the least amount of time with, but I guess it just goes to show that sometimes you can't help who you become.

I missed my mom already. I could tell that that was going to be the hardest part about living here, leaving her behind. It's for her though, my move. Which is probably the only reason why I thought I'd be able to go through with it. She'd recently re-married to a baseball player named Phil and I felt like they needed some time without me around to figure out how to be married, and it didn't help that Phil was always traveling and my mom was stuck home with me. Which is why I was here in Forks, why I asked to move in with my dad, even though I just wanted to be home.

Tomorrow I was supposed to start school at Forks High School, where I will be a junior. I wasn't looking forward to it. Not only will I be the new kid in school, but I was starting right smack in the middle of the school year, which will only go to draw more attention to me, something I don't want. It's a small school and I'd guess that they didn't get a lot of new kids, which meant I probably wouldn't be able to fade into the background.

Back home I wasn't exactly popular, but for the most part I was left alone. I had my books and my music and my peace and quiet, it worked for me, I was happy. I never thought I'd miss my school this much, but the idea of starting at a new school has me terrified, making me miss the comfort of the familiar. I just have to make it through the next few days and things will look better, at least that's what I kept telling myself.

I put away some of my things and then looked around my room. In all the summers I visited here it never changed, at least there's some comfort in the familiar. I could smell cooking and decided to head downstairs to see what Charlie was up to. If nothing else I was thankful he gave me plenty of space, this was hard enough without having someone hovering over me.

Dinner was a dull affair. I could tell that cooking wasn't one of Charlie's areas of expertise, which was fine with me since I actually enjoyed cooking, it helped to calm me. Charlie asked how I was settling in and if I was looking forward to starting school tomorrow. I lied on both accounts, there was no reason for both of us to be miserable. Mostly we sat in silence and I wondered if this was how we would spend every dinner together. Life in Forks was going to be a lot different.

After dinner I told Charlie I was going to go up and finish getting settled in and then hit the hay early, it had been a long day. Charlie asked if I wanted a ride into school tomorrow, but I declined. Charlie's the police chief for Forks and I didn't want to start my first day of school showing up in his cruiser. The town was so small I was pretty sure everyone would already know exactly who I was, but still, I wanted to go as incognito as possible. And anyway, Charlie bought me a truck as a welcoming gift. It was the oldest thing I've ever been in and completely beat up, but I loved it anyway. I was excited to drive myself around, even if I was only driving to school and back.

I finished unpacking my stuff and spent some time gathering up everything I would need for tomorrow. I tried to decide what I would wear but in the end I realized I just didn't care enough to worry about it and instead went and got ready for bed. I laid down in the dark and that's when I knew I wouldn't be able to stop the tears. As much as I hate crying I knew I just needed to get it out of my system. And so I cried myself to sleep.

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In the morning I woke up feeling a little better. I still wasn't looking forward to school, or even happy to be here but I didn't feel as hopeless as I did yesterday. I looked at the clock and realized I had plenty of time before school started, so I went in and took a nice long hot shower, hoping it would help me relax a bit. After I was showered and dressed and had restored some order to my hair I headed downstairs to see what Charlie was up to.

When I entered the kitchen the first thing I noticed was a note from Charlie, seems he was an early riser and had already left for the day. He wished me luck at school and left some money next to the note for lunch. I hunted around the kitchen some until I found the cereal and sat down in silence to eat. When I'm really nervous I close my eyes and slow my breathing down and picture myself sitting down on the beach watching the waves crash. I did that now, preparing myself for my new life.

After breakfast I grabbed my bag and keys and headed out the front door. I was pretty sure I was going to be early, but I thought it would be a lot better then being late, plus I wanted to give myself time in case I got lost.

I found the school pretty easily and headed to the office to pick up my schedule and a map for the day. I headed off to try to find my locker, not because I needed to drop anything off, but just so I would know where it was at. The school was pretty small, just a couple of buildings all surrounding each other. It was different from my old school in that you had to go outside to get to each building, but besides that it looked like your typical school. Two of the buildings looked larger then the others and I guessed that they held the gym and cafeteria.

I found my locker and practiced opening it a few times, trying to memorize the combination. I was still one of the only students there, but it looked like more people were starting to show up. I grabbed my schedule and map and tried to figure out where I'd need to be for first period. It looked like I had English with Williet, I had no idea if Williet was a guy or girl at this point, but figured I'd find out soon enough. I headed off to where I thought the classroom was and was pretty happy with myself when I found it without any major mishaps. Students were showing up in full and I was starting to realize I was already drawing some attention so I decided to head into class and hoped the teacher didn't wait till the last minute to show up.

Williet was a Mrs. Williet, and she was seated at her desk when I showed up in front of her with my schedule in hand. She gave me the book I would need for class, assigned me a seat, and told me that for the first day or so I could just try to get caught up. I thanked her and sat down. I doubted I'd need the time she had given me to get caught up, I was always a pretty good student and English was always one of my better subjects, but I was thankful there would be no pressure for the first few days.

All through class I let my mind wander. I tried to think about anything but where I was, with little to no luck. I kept noticing looks and glances from the students around me. I was certainly that day's entertainment. The girl sitting next to me caught my attention and gave me a shy smile, I smiled back, glad she seemed more welcoming then curious.

After class was over she stood up to introduce herself. "Hey, I'm Angela Webber. You must be Chief Swans daughter, Isabella."

Before I stopped myself I grimaced a little. "Yeah, except no one calls me Isabella unless I'm getting in trouble, you can just call me Bella."

As we turned to walk out of the classroom I noticed the students around us trying to listen in without seeming to. I guess Angela noticed too because she slowed down a little so we could fall behind. She gave me a sly smile as we walked along.

"So what class do you have next?" Angela asked while tucking her book into her bag as we walked along.

I looked at my schedule before answering. "Ummm, looks like Trigonometry with Genson."

"Oh that's where I'm heading next. Do you want to walk with me, I'll show you how to get there? Do you need to stop at your locker?" she asked.

I now had my English book in tow, but it wasn't heavy enough for me to feel the need to run back to my locker so I shook my head and followed Angela, grateful to be on talking terms with at least one person at Forks. As we entered the class I again went up to the teacher to introduce myself and got assigned a seat. My seat was at the back of the class, with an empty seat on my right and a blonde girl on my left. As soon as I sat down Mr. Genson started into the lesson. Trig has never been one of my strong subjects so I was forced to pay more attention here then I did in English.

The day seemed to drone on and I was sure time slowed down. After Algebra I had History. Angela introduced me to some of her friends between classes, Lauren and Jessica, the later which had History with me and walked me there. Jessica seemed peppy and popular, waving to everyone as we passed them by. Her conversation was almost non-stop and I was glad I wasn't expected to hold up my end. She asked me questions here and there, where I was from, why I didn't have a tan if I was from Phoenix, did I have a boyfriend, stuff like that. She sat next to me in History and would talk under her breath when the teacher was occupied. It was a little exhausting trying to keep up with her, especially as she felt like she had to catch me up on all of the gossip about everyone I didn't know yet. I was kind of relieved when Spanish sent me in the opposite direction of her, but before we parted Jessica asked if I wanted to sit with her, Lauren, Angela, and some of their other friends at lunch. I agreed and headed off to find my Spanish class.

Spanish wasn't bad, we got partnered up and were supposed to work on asking and answering questions in Spanish. My partner was a relatively cute guy with blondish hair who turned to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Mike Newton." As he talked he offered his hand for a shake.

I took his hand and gave it a quick shake as I introduced myself. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Bella Swan."

"Yeah, we've been waiting for your arrival for a little while now. Chief Swan stopped by last week to get you registered and everything and it didn't talk long for the whole school to hear about you switching to Forks High," he said. "So I bet this is a lot different then the school you're used to. You're from Phoenix right? That's got to be a tough to move to such a small place when you're used to living in the city."

I looked around to make sure our teacher wasn't paying attention, since we weren't doing a great job practicing our Spanish. When I realized he was too engrossed in his book to care, I turned back to Mike.

"It's ok. It's certainly a lot quieter then Phoenix, but it's not too bad," I answered.

I then made an attempt at Spanish, hoping Mike would take my lead. I wasn't comfortable answering a ton of questions about myself.

Spanish went by pretty fast and when the bell rang Mike and I adjusted our desks and gathered up our books to head out to lunch.

Mike turned back to me when we were out in the hallway and asked, "So, would you want to sit with me and my friends at lunch?"

I remembered I had already promised Jessica that I would sit with her and told Mike so.

At first he frowned, but then when I told him it was Jessica I was sitting with his face lit up. "Oh, that's ok, that's actually where I sit too. There's a whole group of us, it'll be great, you'll like everyone."

With that we headed to the cafeteria and got in line to buy lunch. I looked around the cafeteria and noticed Jessica and Angela already at a table over on the side of the cafeteria. Jessica saw me looking and smiled and gave me a quick wave. I smiled back and signaled I'd join her in a minute. I picked up a salad and a juice and headed over to the table, trailing Mike who was in front of me in line. I greeted Angela and Jessica and Lauren, who had joined them while I was in line for lunch, and then met a couple new people including Eric and Tyler who sat down next to Mike.

I started eating while everyone around me chatted about their day. For the most part I was quiet, answering questions that were sent my way but not actively participating in the conversation. I was content to check out the cafeteria, looking around at the people I hadn't met yet.

Over in the opposite corner from us I noticed a girl staring at me. She was small and pixie-like, with dark brown hair cropped short and green eyes. She was beautiful in a very exotic looking way. She sat next to a blond haired blue eyed boy who was holding her hand in his, making it obvious they were together. He was a lot taller then she was, though it was hard to tell by exactly how much while they were both sitting down. He was just as good looking as she was, only in a different way. Where the girl was exotic he was your typical All American kind of boy. Handsome in a comfortable way. Next to him was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Like the boy she was blond with blue eyes. If I had to guess I would say they were related, they looked too much alike for it to be a coincidence. She was tall and thin and all legs, with her hair hanging down to the middle of her back. I wondered why she wasn't off in New York City, or Paris, or somewhere modeling. I had no doubt she would easily be a success. To her right was a brown haired boy who easily had to be the biggest guy in the school. I had a hard time imagining him as a high school student, he looked much older then everyone around him. He was tall and broad, though in great shape. He had to be a jock or athlete of some kind. He was handsome, but you didn't notice at first, you were so distracted by his size. The longer I looked though the more I realized how handsome his face actually was. Like the other pair it was obvious he and the blond girl were a couple. The blonde girl was leaning into him and he would reach up and rub her back or touch her hair, even while they were eating.

Separate you might not have noticed their beauty as much, they still would have probably been the most beautiful people in the room, but it wouldn't have been as apparent as it was when they were all together like that. With the four of them sitting there together your eye couldn't help but stop at their table time and time again. I wondered why they sat off on their own, with their good looks they should have made up the popular crew in the school, but instead they sat at a half empty table and pretty much ignored the rest of the cafeteria.

Except for the small dark haired girl, who was still staring over at me. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and couldn't figure out why she would stare at me like that. Did I do something to her unintentionally? I didn't think so, I mean it's not like I had been at the school long enough to really offend anyone. She didn't look mad but I didn't know her well enough to say for sure, one way or another. After a minute or so she slowly turned back to the blonde boy who I had thought was her boyfriend. When I was sure she was in a conversation with the other three I turned to Jessica to ask her who they were.

"Hey Jessica, see the kids over at the table opposite us?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could, pointing with my chin and hoping I didn't attract their attention.

Jessica looked over at them and rolled her eyes. "Oh, they're the Cullen's. Their parents are Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. They're actually adopted. See the small dark hair girl? That's Alice, her and her brother Edward were the first two the Cullen's adopted. I don't see Edward, I guess he's not here today or he'd be sitting with them. Anyway, they've lived with Dr. Cullen since they were about eight I guess. They're twins. The big brown haired guy there, his name is Emmett, he was the next one adopted. I guess he came when we were about twelve, he's a year ahead of us so he would have been about thirteen. The Cullen's are pretty young and everyone was surprised they would take in three kids like that. I guess Mrs. Cullen can't have children, though I'm not sure, maybe she just prefers adopting."

I looked around to see if anyone at their table had caught on that we were talking about them but it didn't look like it. I turned back to Jess who had taken a sip of her soda and was ready to continue with her story.

"So for a while it was just the three of them. Even though only Alice and Edward are actually related to each other they've always acted as though Emmett was their actual brother and not just their adopted one. He's pretty protective of them too, definitely acts the part of the big brother. Anyway, about two years ago Mrs. Cullen's sister and husband got into a car accident and were killed. Mrs. Cullen was their only family left I guess, so they came to live with them. They're the two blondes at the table, their names are Rosalie and Jasper. Rosalie is a year older then us, both her and Emmett are seniors. Jasper is in our grade, along with Alice and Edward. It's kind of weird, Jasper is dating Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie are dating. They all live in the same house with each other. Can you imagine?" You could tell that Jessica thought this was a pretty big piece of gossip.

Actually, it really was. I couldn't imagine living with my boyfriend, not that I've ever had a boyfriend. I wonder how their parents handled it. I wondered if it was weird because they were kind of like brothers and sisters. I guessed though that it wouldn't be so weird since Jasper and Rosalie hadn't moved in with them until just two years ago. Still it was interesting to say the least. I turned back to Jess to see if she was done with her story.

She looked them over for a bit and then turned back to me. "So everyone likes Dr. Cullen and his wife too much to say anything about it to them, but the whole town pretty much talks about it. It's pretty scandalous. At least they weren't raised as brothers and sisters like Emmett was with Edward and Alice. They pretty much keep to themselves since they all started dating. Alice, Edward, and Emmett used to hang out with everyone before though, and I guess to a certain extent they still do, just not like before. Alice is very out-going and friendly, Emmett is on the football team, and Edward is just Edward, you'll see when he comes back to school. But since the Hales, that's Rosalie and Jasper, have entered the picture they spend less time with everyone else and more time with each other. I guess they realized how weird we all think they are for dating each other."

I looked back over at the table and noticed the small dark haired girl, Alice, was looking back over at me. Her gaze was intent and I would have guessed that not a lot passed her by. I shifted in my seat and waited for her to look away. I wondered why she kept looking over at me, it seemed more then just curiosity over the new girl. Finally the bell rang and we all got up and threw our trash away and headed to class. I had biology next, along with Mike who walked me to class. I was assigned a seat at an empty lab table and let my mind wander through most of class. I found myself coming back to the Cullen's time and time again. They were fascinating, not just for their looks but for their relationships with each other.

The rest of the day passed uneventful and the last bell finally rang and I was able to get in my truck and head home. I stopped on my way home to pick up supplies for dinner since I didn't want to eat Charlie's cooking again, and then I went upstairs to my room to chill out before it was time to start on dinner.

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**A/N:**

Oy! Let me know if you like it so I know if I should keep going. ;o)


	2. Chapter 2

**Twilight and all of it's characters do not belong to me, they belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.  
**

**Alice** (v.2)

I knew as soon as I came downstairs that Edward wasn't going to school. He was sprawled out on the couch in an old pair of sweats and a tee shirt watching TV. No way would he be dressed like that if he was going to school, he was lucky I let him get away with it around the house, but he always preferred to sleep in sweats to real pajamas.

I skipped over the last step, making a little thump when I landed on the floor. Not loud, just loud enough to catch Edward's attention. He looked up at me from the TV and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Staying home, brother mine?" I asked.

I looked him over and decided he didn't look sick, at least not enough to stay home for the day.

He grinned up at me, "My throat is sore, Carlisle said I could stay home today." Adding, before I could question the truth of that, "I'm sicker then I look, trust me."

I might have believed him if he hadn't stuck his tongue out at me when he was done talking. I rolled my eyes and plopped down next to him on the couch. It was early still and we were the first two down, besides Carlisle and Esme that is. Carlisle had probably already left for the day, and I hadn't seen Esme yet but knowing her she was around getting things ready for us for the day. I grabbed Edward's hand in mine and stared down at our fingers as they entwined.

Edward and I were brother and sister, twins actually. We lost our mom at birth and our father when we were just four. We had no other family so we ended up in the foster system. Edward is the only family member I can remember now. I have a few pictures of my parents but no actual memories. My brother has been the only true constant in my life, he is the one person I hide nothing from.

When we were nine we were taken in by Carlisle and Esme Cullen. We ended up in the Emergency Room one evening with broken bones and no house to go back to, which is when we met Dr. Cullen. Carlisle patched up our broken bones, gathered us up, and took us home with him without ever looking back. Everyone told him and his wife Esme that they were crazy, they were so young and we were so obviously broken. But the young couple ignored everyone's warnings, and proceeded to patch us up, piece by piece. It would be years before we healed, at least in the places that mattered, but eventually we did, thanks all to the husband and wife who took us in that day.

They were our family now, our parents, and when we were eleven they officially took up the mantel, adopting us as their own. Not a day goes by that Edward and I don't realize how lucky we are to have them.

I leaned my head on Edward's shoulder and closed my eyes and tried to empty my mind.

Edward and I were what some people would call special, and others would call freaks. We each are equipped with our own special ability, and we have no idea why or even how it works, we just know that we've always been like this. Edward can sense peoples thoughts, he doesn't actually read minds or anything like that but he can get a sense of what the person is thinking, of who they really are, and when they're lying. And I get glimpses of the future. I'm not a fortune teller, it's nothing that clear, I can't see events exactly as they will happen, it's more like I'm seeing things through a dream. Everything is fuzzy and I get quick glimpses. I often know when something important is about to happen, or when someone new is going to enter our lives, or when we're about to encounter change. Sometimes if I really concentrate I can get a couple specifics, see who a person will be to us, things like that. It's not a science at all, and I've been known to be wrong on occasion.

Hardly anyone knows about the things we can do. Our parents Carlisle and Esme, our brother Emmett, and Rose and Jasper. Carlisle, ever the doctor, has tried to convince us to go in for some tests, but Edward and I both refuse. We'd rather keep our abilities to ourselves.

When we're close to each other, and focus that's when things come in clearer for us. It's almost like our abilities were enhanced with proximity. As I sat next to him on the couch I focused on what was ahead, trying to catch any glimpses, see if there was anything we needed to keep an eye out for.

For the past few days images had been coming to me, too quickly or too fuzzy for me to make any real sense of, but I had the feeling something big was about to happen and it frustrated me that I couldn't figure out what it was. It didn't usually take this long for me to understand a vision and it was stressing me out. I kept thinking maybe it was something important and I would catch it too late. Which is why I had plopped down next to Edward, I hoped that being next to him would focus my visions, unfortunately they weren't any clearer now then they were the past few days.

I sighed and stood up and Edward looked up at me curiously, sensing my frustration. "Still can't figure it out?"

"No, it's not becoming any clearer, and it's making me edgy. I don't like seeing and not knowing. It's giving me a headache." To press my point I rubbed at my temples, and thought tha\\ maybe I should take a couple of aspirin before I headed to school.

Edward focused on my face for a minute and I could tell he was concentrating, but whether he was trying to get a sense of what I was thinking or just thinking things out I wasn't sure. After a minute he blinked and smiled up at me, apparently deciding that there was nothing to worry about.

"Relax Alice. If it's something we need to know we'll figure it out, we always do." And with that he turned away, focusing on our brother Emmett who was coming down the stairs.

Emmett isn't our real brother, not by birth anyway. He came to Carlisle and Esme as Edward and I had, through the foster system, only a few years after us. He was thirteen to our twelve, and the minute he stepped through the front door Edward and I knew that we had a new brother. I don't know what it was about him but we had instantly felt a connection. Emmett is a big bear of a boy, even when he was young he was big for his age, and he's open, kind, and without guile, making him easy to love. He loves practical jokes, he's loud and annoying, and he can drive you up the wall sometimes, but he is without a doubt our older brother. He watches out for us and we watch out for him, we are a team.

When Emmett walked into the room the first thing he did was engulf me in a great big bear hug. Normally I would give him a hard time about it and act like it annoyed me, but today I was grateful for the sense of security that I felt while surrounded by Emmett. He looked down at me for a second, I guess trying to decide why I offered no protest over his hug. He must not have seen anything on my face to worry him and so he turned to Edward.

"What's up Edward? Hope you're not going to school in that outfit, I doubt you'll find a girl wearing sweat pants." Emmett laughed, I assumed at the idea of Edward asking a girl out in his old sweat pants.

Edward just rolled his eyes at Emmett. "First, I have no plans to ask anyone at our school out, in sweat pants or otherwise, as you are already aware. Second, I'm staying home, so you guys can catch a ride with Rose today."

Emmett and I both groaned. Rose was our sort of sister. Her and her real brother Jasper moved in here about two years ago when their parents were killed in a car crash. They're actually Esme's niece and nephew, though they hardly ever got to see her and Carlisle while they were growing up. Esme's sister lived in the southeast with her husband and son Jasper, who was the same age as Edward and I, and daughter Rosalie who was Emmett's age. Even though the two sisters were close and talked on the phone all the time they didn't get to see each other often. When Esme's sister and brother-in-law were killed Esme and Carlisle didn't hesitate to take their two kids in. Jazz and Rose have been living here ever since.

The minute I saw Jasper Hale I fell in love. We were only fifteen at the time but I knew then that he was the one I was meant to be with. I was never able to look at him as a brother, he was always just Jasper to me, the boy I loved. When he and Rose came to us they were grieving for their parents, and spent all of their time with each other, shutting the rest of us out. It was a year before I felt like I had the chance to get to know them at all, before they started to really come out of their cocoon they had surrounded themselves within.

It didn't bother to wait, I knew I could give Jasper the time he needed to grieve and heal, and that I would be here waiting for when he was ready. Eventually he was ready to leave behind his sadness and start settling down into his new life. It didn't take long till we were dating.

At first Esme and Carlisle were not happy, and then I think they thought it was something that would pass quickly, and then I think they finally realized we had real feelings for each other, even if they couldn't understand them. They let us date, but there are strict rules, which we happily abide by. Jazz and I would never intentionally hurt Carlisle or Esme so we are happy to take our relationship at a speed they are comfortable with. We know we have all the time in the world, so we're content to take things slow, at least physically. Even for Carlisle and Esme I would not hold back my emotional connection to Jazz, I love him too much to try.

Rosalie took a little longer to accept her life here in Forks. She wasn't ready as fast as Jasper was to open up to our family, and she wasn't happy when Jasper was ready to let the grief wash away before she was. The next six months were a very tense six months in our house. Rose seemed to only take pleasure in our misery, and so she lashed out at us all, almost like a wounded animal. She especially loved to go after Edward, who as Esme and Carlisle's favorite got under her skin even more then the rest of us. Those two probably would have eventually killed each other if it wasn't for Emmett.

Emmett watched Rose struggle with her grief and tried time after time to reach out to her. Each time she rejected him. She wanted nothing to do with the big bear boy as she liked calling him, and ignored his attempts to cheer her up and get her to laugh. Emmett knows how to be persistent though and he waited Rose out, always reaching out to her, letting her know he was there if and when she needed him. Six months ago the two of them had it out, Rose had pushed and pushed and one day she just pushed too far. The explosion rocked our house, but when it was done Rose had finally been able to leave her grief and misery behind her. The two of them have been together ever since. Rose could probably have any man she wanted, but from that point on she only ever wanted Emmett.

Unlike Jasper and I, Rose and Emmett were always a very physical couple, right from the beginning. Esme and Carlisle spend most of their time trying to avoid thinking about the physical side of Emmett and Rose's relationship. I think if it was anyone else but Rose they would have tried to put a stop to it, but I think they were so happy to just see Rose happy for the first time since she moved in with us that they just let it happen.

And so our family was finally complete. We still have some kinks to work out. Rose and Edward still tend to annoy each other more often then not, and poor Edward has to deal with everyone around him happily in love, but for the most part we are happy.

Except for the fact that we would have to catch a ride to school with Rose. Edward and Rose were the only two with cars. Carlisle and Esme thought it would be a waste if we were all running around in our own cars so they decided they would get two for us all to share. Somewhere along the way we stopped sharing and Edward and Rose had confiscated the cars. They were the two car enthusiasts in the family and rather then go up against them the rest of us gave in. Edward drives a white Volvo, Rose a red BMW. Her tastes seem to run on the expensive side.

The reason we groaned when thinking of driving to school with Rose was because of out of all of us she is the craziest driver. She only half pays attention to the road, too busy talking and looking in the mirror and focusing on every little thing to pay attention. This usually isn't a problem because we take Edward's car most of the time. Rose doesn't mind because she's sure someone is going to dent her BMW in the school parking lot, so she's ok with Edward driving to and from school, but today there'd be no escaping it.

As Rose, followed by Jasper, came down the stairs Emmett and I exchanged looks, both dreading our ride to school. Then Emmett turned to Rose and gave her a big hug and kissed the top of her head, and I reached out and grabbed Jasper's hand. I turned back to Edward, my question clear on my face. He looked up from the TV just long enough to nod at Rose and Jazz and point me in the direction of the kitchen. I turned and headed towards the back of the house with Jazz in tow. As we were about to enter the kitchen I mumbled to him sotto voice that Rose would be driving us this morning. He grumbled some but never slowed as we crossed through the kitchen doorway.

The kitchen was the brightest room in the house. Esme spent a lot of time in here and wanted it nice and bright and welcoming. It was our family's favorite room in the house. We loved gathering around in the kitchen, talking and catching up and helping Esme cook. She was making breakfast when Jazz and I walked into the kitchen. I let go of Jazz's hand and went over and gave her a hug.

"Hi mom. Thanks for being here." I whispered to her quietly as I hugged her.

"Morning Alice. I'll always be here, love." Esme whispered to me as she hugged me back.

It was our morning ritual. It started sometime when I was about eleven and has continued ever since. Though I no longer need it like I did then I still take comfort in the honesty behind the simple words. Esme will always be there for me. It brings a smile to my face as it has done every morning since the first time that we said the words to each other.

The rest of the family, Edward included, piled into the kitchen, helping to get things together to sit down for breakfast at the table. We always try to get up and ready for school early enough to have time to sit down to eat breakfast together. It's been a family tradition dating back to when Edward and I first moved in. Esme wanted to know her family was starting the day off with full stomachs and the knowledge that we were there for each other. It's always been one of my favorite parts of the day.

Emmett had just shoved a piece of toast in his mouth when he turned to Edward. "Bro, you sure you don't want to come to school? New girl starts today," he said.

Edward just shook his head not even bothering to look up. I looked over at Emmett and smiled and shrugged, giving him credit for his last ditch effort to get out of having to drive in to school with Rose.

Esme missed the undertones of the conversation and focused on what Emmett had just said. "Someone new is starting at school today? I didn't hear of any new families in the area."

I was the one who answered, as I was usually the most up to date on gossip. "It's actually not a new family. Chief Swan's daughter moved in with him. I guess she had lived with her mom up until now, though I'm not sure why she's moving here now. She'll be in class with Edward, Jasper, and I."

Then I turned to look meaningfully over at Jasper and Rose, "So that means the two of you will no longer be the new kids at school."

Jazz and Rose both let out a significant groan. Although they moved here two years ago, our town was so small, with so few new families moving in that they were the last new additions to our school. It wouldn't have been a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that in our school you were considered the new kid until someone else took your place. Rose and Jazz have had to put up with being called newbies, noobs, new kids, and any other form of the words the Forks student body at large could come up with over the past two years. It had started to wear on them to say the least. They've been trying unsuccessfully to get it dropped for quite some time now. I figured, if no one else, the two of them would be happy about Forks High's new addition.

We finished breakfast and managed to get the kitchen cleaned up and then grabbed our stuff to head out the door. Edward told us to have fun while Emmett asked him one last time if he didn't want to change his mind and come to school to check out the new girl. Edward checked to make sure Esme wasn't looking, then gave Emmett the finger, smiled at him and walked out of the kitchen. Emmett snorted and walked out the door towards the garage and the BMW where Rose was already waiting. As Jazz finished throwing on his shoes I walked over and gave Esme a kiss on the cheek. She turned back and gave me a hug and wished me a good day and then I caught up to Jazz and we hopped into the back seat of the BMW.

As we knew it would be the drive to school was a little scary, Rose having to swerve back on to the road at least three times as her focus drifted from the road. In Rose's defense I will say that we never managed to get to school as quickly with Edward as we did with her. The girl does love to drive fast.

When we got to school we all parted ways. Normally Edward and I would have first period History together, but besides that none of us would see each other again till lunch. After lunch Jasper and I had a class together, and Rose and Emmett had their last class together and that was it. We'd see each other throughout the day, but for the most part were in classes by ourselves.

We always sat together at lunch. Edward and I, and to some extent Emmett, have been in Forks long enough to be seen as just any other Forks students. We weren't born here, but we'd been a permanent fixture long enough that we weren't thought of as outsiders. We were popular and had friends and were as at ease with our classmates as they were with us.

Or we were, until then the Hales moved in with us. Not only were they the new kids, but then I started dating Jasper and Emmett starting dating Rose. We were supposed to be brothers and sisters, at least to the rest of Forks, and we were living together and then we started dating. It shocked our school. But Edward, Emmett, and I had never felt like Rosalie and Jasper were our brother and sister. We loved them yes, and we felt connected to them, but on a different level. Even Edward, who felt no romantic tendencies to either Hale sibling didn't view them as a brother or sister. We were united in our love for Carlisle and Esme, and we did see each other as a family, but just not in your typical pattern.

The rest of the school couldn't really get over it though. They eventually got past it, I think it helped that Emmett was on the Varsity football team, and Rose became a cheerleader, it was hard to shun them when they were on two of the most popular teams. It was uncomfortable for a while, but our united front finally wore down the school. But, like I said, they never really got over it and we would never be able to go back to the easy relationships we once had. Edward, I think, suffered the most from it, after all, he was losing friends without gaining the type of relationship that Emmett and I had gotten out of the deal. He paid the price without the prize waiting for him. He never complained though, never blamed any of us, or showed any resentment towards us. I think it was enough that I, and then eventually Emmett, were so happy, which of course made me love Edward all the more.

Now we had finally established a comfortable pattern with those around us. We interacted, and even hung out with our old friends, but the closeness would never come back. An outsider would probably not be able to tell the difference, but for the three of us who had considered Forks home for all these years, it would always be obvious.

So that's why we sat together by ourselves during lunch, and why we were sitting together now off on our own. I hadn't had a chance to check out the new girl all day and I had to admit to myself that I was a little curious. I was the first at our table to make it in to the cafeteria and as Esme had sent a packed lunch in with me I was able to go sit right down without having to stand in line for lunch. Jasper and Rose were only a few seconds behind me and came right over to join me, as they both had their lunches with them also. Emmett was the last in and went right over to stand in line for lunch. Esme offered to pack him a lunch just as she did for the rest of us, but Emmett usually declined, saying he would rather buy a hot lunch at school then bring something cold in. Emmett took food very seriously and always picked a hot meal over a bag lunch.

I pulled out my lunch and asked Jazz and Rose how their day had been going, and whether either of them had caught site of the new girl yet. Rose rolled her eyes, I guess it was her way of letting me know she had no interest in the new girl, but Jasper shook his head and told me he hadn't seen her yet.

I looked around the cafeteria and noticed Jessica Stanley waving to someone still standing in line for lunch. As she was turned away from me and facing Jessica I didn't get a look at her, but as I didn't recognize her from the back I assumed that this was Miss Isabella Swan, Charlie Swan's daughter and Forks newest resident New Kid. I sat back and relaxed figuring that the exchange between her and Jessica meant that she'd be sitting over at Jess's table and if I waited another minute I'd get my first look at her.

Despite everything that had happened between us and our classmates over the past year I couldn't seem to stop myself from getting wrapped up in all of the school gossip. I am at heart a busy body, and I willingly acknowledge that fact. My family knows that if they want to find out what's going on at our school, or in the town, that I am the one to come to. I soak up gossip like it's air, and I'm not sure why. I just love trying to figure out how everyone works, and how they all fit in together. It keeps me from getting bored, and drives Edward up the wall.

Edward is the exact opposite of me. He could care less what gossip is floating around and pays attention to pretty much no one. Occasionally he'll try to humor me and ask if so and so is still dating, and I'll roll my eyes and inform him that they broke up three months ago and have completely moved on. When it comes to our level of interest in our fellow classmates Edward and I are like night and day, with Jasper, Emmett, and Rose all falling somewhere in the middle. Jasper tends to lean more towards Edwards attitude about all the gossip, and Rose tends to lean more towards my line of thought, and surprisingly Emmett usually keeps up with the gossip about as much as Rose does, which gives Edward and Jasper something to pick on him about.

The new girl had finally sat down over at Jessica's table and I got my first good look at her. She was short. Taller then me but shorter then Rose, even shorter then Jess I thought. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She was pretty, but not in an overly obvious way. If you didn't take the time to look you might miss it, but once you did really look her beauty popped out at you, it wasn't conventional but it was there. Her wardrobe didn't help her stand out in any way. She had on a jeans and a tee shirt with a simple white long sleeve shirt under her tee. I allowed myself a second to imagine the outfit I would have put her in instead, making her stand out rather then fade into the background and then continued to look her over. Clothing aside, she seemed open and friendly, and my first thoughts were she was too open and friendly to be sitting with Jess and Lauren, who would eat her up and toss her out like sharks with their lunch. I felt an odd urge to go over and protect her, which was weird because she was no one to me.

I was getting ready to turn and point her out to Jasper when it happened. The vision that had been working it's way through my subconscious the past few days finally surfaced through. I gave in to it and lost all awareness of the cafeteria around me. At some point I felt Jazz's hand reach out and grab mine and I was certain he knew one of my visions had taken me over and wanted to lend me his support without drawing attention to me.

I had no idea how long I sat there frozen in place, lost in my vision, but from the look on the Swan girl's face when I came back to myself, it probably looked like I had been staring at her the entire time. She probably thought I was some kind of crazy woman now. Great. I turned to Jazz and pretended to get involved with the conversation so I could give myself a minute to process what I had just learned. I felt Jazz looking at me from the corner of his eye and I smiled at him so he'd know I was ok.

It was obvious now that the Swan girl had been the reason behind my visions the past few days. I have no idea why it had been so hard for me to get a good focus on them, but I'd guess that it had something to do with never actually having met her before. I still don't really know what the vision had meant, it was just fragmented pieces, but at least now I was no longer looking at them through a fog. I felt sure that Isabella Swan would be important to our family, and in particular to Edward and myself. I felt excitement when I thought about it, and connected to Isabella now even though I had yet to meet her. It was like she was going to belong to us, to Edward and I. It sounded creepy but it felt right. All through lunch I couldn't stop myself from looking over at her. I wanted to go introduce myself to her and drag her away from Jessica and Lauren, and at the same time I wanted to run home to Edward to tell him all about both my vision and her. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there watching her through lunch and thought about how I would ever tell Edward about her, and get him to understand what she was going to mean to us.

The bell finally rang signaling the end of lunch. I got up and threw my trash away and Jazz and I headed to our next class. I was practically bouncing up and down with my excitement and it finally caught Jazz's attention.

"What has gotten into you Alice? It's like that big sale over at the outlets in Seattle all over again," he said.

That had me pause for a second while I fondly remembered all the great deals I got that day.

I turned back to Jazz and tried to calm down enough to say something that made any kind of sense. "It's the new girl Jazz, she's what my visions have been about the past couple of days. I'm not sure what's going to happen but I do know she's going to end up a part of our lives."

We were almost to our class so there wasn't really time for Jazz to ask any questions, so I promised we'd talk more about it after school.

The rest of my classes for the day seemed to pass in slow motion. I couldn't wait for school to get over with so I could go home and tell Edward about Isabella Swan. I was disappointed that I didn't have any classes with her the rest of the day, but I was content that she would hopefully soon be a part of my life. Finally the last bell of the day rang and I went to my locker to get all of my books and stuff together and headed out to find the car and Jazz, Rosalie, and Emmett.

I walked outside and found the car sitting where we had parked it that morning. Everyone was already there, Emmett and Rose lip locked and looking like they might never come up for air, and Jasper laying on the hood of the car with his eyes closed waiting for me to appear. When I was about a foot away from the car he put his hand up and out for me, somehow knowing it was me without having to open his eyes. He's good at doing this and it has gotten to be a game for us. I always try to sneak up on him and catch him off guard and he always knows that it's me, no matter how quiet I am about it. I love this about him, love that he can somehow sense my presence next to him and just know that it's me. It puts a smile on my face every time.

As I reach him he sits up and we give each other our first real kiss for the day. It felt good and once again I was reminded of how much I love Jazz. It's like everything about him was made specifically for me, and I for him. We never fight, we care too much about how the other one feels to truly lose our tempers with each other. And though we don't always see eye to eye we somehow always work through our differences. Jasper has my heart, and always will.

After our kiss we pull away, but not so far that we're not touching. The afternoon is our time and we rarely let go of each other during these few hours. Out of respect for Esme and Carlisle we keep things tame, but this is our time to really show each other our love for the other, and we take full advantage.

Rose and Emmett finally come up for air long enough to see that Jazz and I are already at the car and waiting for them to stop going at it so we can finally head home. We hop in the car and pull out of the school parking lot when Jazz turns to me.

"So tell me about this vision you had today, you said it involved Chief Swan's daughter right?"

As soon as Rose and Emmett heard Jazz mention of a vision I had their full attention, which made me nervous as Rose was trying to drive at the same time. I sent up a little prayer that we would make it home in one piece and started to tell them about my vision.

I looked over at Emmett while I explained some of the back story. "So the past few days I've been having these really annoying visions that I couldn't interpret at all. They were too fragmented and hazy, but they've been driving me crazy because I felt like I should have been able to figure them out. I've been obsessing about them a little actually."

I looked up to make sure everyone was still with me and assured they were I got to the important part of the story, today's vision. "Anyway, at lunch today I had another vision and this one was a little more clear. It was obvious that they've been about the Swan girl the whole time, and I guess I was being held back by never having seen her before today. I still only got fragments, but it was enough to see that she is going to be important to our family, and somehow more so to Edward and I. I'm not sure how I got that from what I saw, images of her running through the woods, her and I sitting on Edward's rock near the stream, Edward behind her house, her looking into a mirror, just fragments, pieces of a whole I'm not seeing yet, and maybe never will. But, I'm sure I'm right about what she'll mean to us. When the vision was over I was left with this reassurance that we had somehow already been set off on a path we were meant to go down."

When I was done they all looked at me and then each other. I knew it wasn't going to mean as much to them as it would to me, or as much as it hopefully will to Edward who would at least be able to get a feel of my vision using his own unique ability, but I wanted to tell them about the vision anyway.

Rose was the first one to speak. "So what does it mean for us now?"

I looked at her in the mirror and lightly shrugged my shoulders. "For the moment it means telling Edward about what I saw, and then I guess sitting back and seeing how it plays out. As much as I wanted to talk to Isabella today I got the impression that it would be Edward who initiated contact with her. I guess until then the rest of us do nothing."

With that we had pulled into our driveway. We got out of the car and headed into the house to tell Edward about the girl we were about to get to know. We found him waiting for us in the music room.

****************************************************************

**A/N:**  
_Whoo. That was a hard one for me to write for some reason. I had a hard time getting into Alice's head after spending so much time with Bella that I actually had to go back and almost start from scratch with this chapter. It just wasn't Alice enough for me. Anyway, the next chapter is from Edward's PoV, and it's probably the last time I do a full chapter from one characters PoV. After that I'll probably switch back and forth, unless I find it too hard for me to focus that way._

Anyway, reviews would be lovely and help me to know if I'm heading in the right direction. Thanks!  



	3. Chapter 3

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm sure we're all aware of that.**

**A/N: **_Sorry this is such a long one. I thought about splitting it up but it didn't really make sense to. I didn't want to do Bella, Alice, Edward, Edward, Bella, so I apologize in advance for the length! _

**Edward**

_Sigh._

_This._

_Life._

_Sucks._

I groaned loudly and rolled over and stared up at my ceiling. I was tired of my life, and there was no reason why I should be. I have a great family who I love, I want for nothing, I do well in school, I have my own car, I could probably date anyone I wanted, if I had wanted to.

I don't.

Want to date anyone that is.

At least not anyone from around here.

I'm ready to leave Forks behind. I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not the small town type of guy. I need people, and noise, and things to actually do, and culture, why is there no culture here? There is _nothing_ here. I threw my pillow at the wall and lifted myself up out of bed. I don't feel up to going to school which means I need to get downstairs before Carlisle leaves. Of my adopted parents Esme, while definitely the sweeter more nurturing of the two, is also the more unsympathetic to the fact that sometimes a person just needs a day off from school. Carlisle however understands that every once in a person just needs a day to themselves. If I didn't catch him before he left for the hospital I would be forced to try to convince Esme that I'm feeling sick, and she has a radar for stuff like that.

I headed down to the second floor where Carlisle's office was to see if he was in there but the door was open and the room empty so I knew he'd probably be downstairs with Esme. I went down and headed for the kitchen where I guessed they'd be. Every morning they sit and have coffee together and talk about their plans for the day, then Carlisle heads out and Esme gets us all ready for school. We are a pretty predictable household.

Sure enough they were both sitting at the table with mugs in hand. I knew it was going to be harder with Esme sitting right there, but I couldn't think of an excuse to get Carlisle out of the room.

When they saw me enter they both looked up and smiled at me. There was a chorus of "Good Mornings" as we all three spoke at once.

Carlisle laughed a little under his breath before asking, "You're up early Edward, everything ok?"

I sat down at the table and leaned my elbow on it, resting my head on my hand and looked over at him, this would be my only chance at this. "Carlisle, I was wondering if I could stay home today?"

He and Esme exchanged glances and then almost automatically his hand went up to my forehead, as if feeling for a fever. "Are you sick? What's bothering you?"

I pulled away from his hand and gave my shoulders a shrug, "It's nothing like that, I just, I could use a day to myself is all really."

I could see Esme getting ready to deny my request but Carlisle lightly shook his head at her and then looked me over. I mean, really looked me over. I could see he was trying to figure something out, and I could sense he was trying to make sure I was ok. He knew I seemed off somehow, but wasn't sure how or why. Finally he looked over at Esme, and I could see they were having a moment, until she lightly nodded her head and then he looked back at me.

"You can stay home today, but you have to actually stay home. No leaving the house. If you're taking a sick day you need to act sick. Agreed?"

I shook my head and then thought better, "What about the yard? Can I hang out there?"

Carlisle shook his head yes and started looking over some papers he had in front of him. It was Esme who spoke next.

"Edward, if your brothers or sisters ask please tell them you have a throat infection, I don't want them thinking you lot can start skipping school whenever you want. This isn't a regular occurrence ok?" She gave me her strictest mom look as she spoke.

"I promise." She seemed satisfied with my response and went back to sipping her coffee.

I thanked them and headed out of the kitchen before they could change their minds. I knew Carlisle has suspected for a few days that something was bothering me, but I also know that he doesn't want to push me to talk about it unless I was ready or he felt I needed someone to step in. One of the good things about my little talent was that I could almost instinctively figure out what people were thinking, which was rather helpful when it came to dealing with parents.

Alice and I are freaks. I know she likes to say we're gifted or special, but I call it like I see it, we're freaks. I don't know how we can do the things we do, I often wonder if one or both of our parents could "sense" things like we could. I would never know though as they died long ago. Esme and Carlisle were our parents now.

I plopped down on the couch and thought about my family. I loved Esme and Carlisle as if they were my own parents. I loved them for taking Alice and I in without hesitation. I loved them for treating us as if we were their own children. I loved them for helping us heal. I loved them for making Alice happy again, if nothing else, for that I would be eternally grateful. My parents were definitely not the reason I am in the funk I am now.

I don't know what's wrong with me really. I feel so static, like I will be stuck here in this life forever. As much as I love my family I just want to get away from this town. I feel like everything will change if I could just put Forks in my rearview mirror.

I don't tell anyone about this though. I keep it from Esme, and Carlisle, and even Alice, who I keep nothing from. I can't explain to them the reasons behind my feelings, can't make them understand why I somehow feel incomplete here, and so unhappy when I'm surrounded by love, and so I don't try. Why pull them down with me if I don't have to? It's weird though, I've never hid anything from Alice before. I guess I've never had to though.

She's so happy. Ever since Jasper and Rosalie moved in Alice has been on a one way train to pure happiness. When she and Jasper finally started going out I knew he was what she needed. I could feel how completely happy she was and it made me sad that I had never noticed that she wasn't completely happy before. I'm her twin brother, and I could sense thoughts, how bad was it that I didn't know she wasn't happy? But she is now and that's all that matters.

I don't want to be the one that takes that away from her. If she knows how unhappy I am it will just ruin her own happiness. So I keep it to myself, and in a way it helps because I know I'm not contaminating anyone else with my misery.

I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. There was nothing I could really do until my brothers and sisters left for the day and I didn't have to act sick. In my head I silently amended brothers and sisters to brother and sister and then added on Esme's niece and nephew. I don't know why I still did this, amended my thoughts like this when the whole town and my own parents considered them my brother and sister, but I still had to do it. They just don't feel like my brother and sister, not in the way Alice does, or even the way Emmett, my adopted brother does. I love Jasper in that guy kind of way, the way you feel with a really close friend, and I guess I care about Rosalie, but it's never been in the same way I do with Emmett and Alice. So while I no longer correct people I do silently add on an amendment every time someone refers to them as my brother and sister. I guess I'm just stubborn like that.

As I was spaced out in front of the TV Carlisle poked his head around the door to tell me he was leaving and to "feel better", his way of reminding me of my promise to Esme. I waved my hand in the air once to let him know message received and he headed back to the kitchen to kiss Esme goodbye and leave for work.

I could tell Alice was awake and getting ready to come downstairs. Though I couldn't really sense specifics of what people were thinking, I can't like actually pick up their exact sentences to themselves or whatever, I could get a pretty good grasp on what was on their mind, more so with Alice then anyone else. I don't know if it's because we're twins, or because we're very close, or because we both have an ability or what, but I can almost make out exactly what goes through her mind. And right now I could tell that she was getting ready to head down the stairs.

When she hit the second step from the bottom she paused a second and then hopped over the bottom to land on the floor. I know she thought she was getting my attention, but really I just like to let her think occasionally she can get near me unnoticed.

I looked over at her and she narrowed her eyes at me and asked, "Staying home, brother mine?"

I grinned up at her, more for her use of "brother mine" then anything else, it was just so Alice.

"My throat is sore, Carlisle said I could stay home today." And because I could tell she was skeptical I tacked on, "I'm sicker then I look, trust me."

Then I stuck my tongue out at her, so she wouldn't get suspicious. I didn't want her to give me a hard time about staying home and upset Esme, but I also didn't want her to wonder why I felt the need to stay home. She might not be able to sense thoughts like I could, but it would be a mistake to not give Alice credit for being able to read people, especially me. The girl had talent at wheedling things out of you that you didn't want to tell. I know the only reason she hadn't picked up on my mood yet was because she was having problems with her own ability, her visions. She was having trouble the past couple of days understanding them, which means she wasn't as focused on everyone around her as she usually was.

Just another reason why it was a good thing I was taking a day off. Hopefully having a day to myself will help me get in a better mood, so that Alice doesn't have to be any wiser to my little funk.

Alice walked over and sat next to me and grabbed my hand and entwined our fingers. We both looked down at our hands and I could sense Alice's thoughts drift off. I focused on her, trying to pick up what she was thinking about. I knew she let her mind drift back over our life here, at the Cullen's house. I could always tell when she did this, her thoughts had a distinct feel to them when she started remembering our life here.

She rested her head on my shoulders and closed her eyes and I knew she was trying to focus on her visions, trying to make sense out of them. I sat still while she tried to work it out. I could tell it wasn't going well.

She sighed and stood up and I looked up at her asking, "Still can't figure it out?" even though I already knew the answer.

"No, and it's not becoming any clearer, and it's making me edgy. I don't like seeing and not knowing. It's giving me a headache." As she said it she rubbed her temples, trying to rub away the headache I guess.

I looked up at her and then focused on her thoughts, and in turn on her vision, and then really concentrated. If she was this stressed out about it I needed to take it seriously. It helped me that she was actually thinking about her vision, so I would be able to get a sense of it.

She wasn't exaggerating. What I sensed was unfocused and chaotic as if I was trying to process too much information at once and my brain was rebelling. I'm not surprised she was frustrated over it, I would have been too. But then I blinked and cleared my mind and knew that whatever it was we would be able to handle it together.

I looked up at her to assure her it would be ok. "Relax Alice. If it's something we need to know we'll figure it out, we always do."

As I was reassuring her Emmett was coming down the steps, and I looked over at him as he entered the room. He reached over and engulfed Alice in a great big hug and I smiled as I watched.

He might not have been born our brother, but that was just a technicality. Alice and I love Emmett as we love each other. Our bond was almost instant. From the moment Carlisle brought him home from the Emergency Room, much as he had with Alice and I years before, and introduced us and I sensed how scared this great big giant kid was that we'd reject him and felt how much he was hoping we'd just give him a chance and let him be our friend I knew there was no turning back. I've thought of him as a brother ever since. Alice says that she knew before he even walked in the house that he was going to be the older brother we never had.

I think Emmett was just so grateful for our unexpected acceptance of him that we earned his loyalty and love before he even realized he was giving it. We may not have a lot in common with each other, but we will always love each other unconditionally. I know that if Alice or I ever needed someone's help that Emmett would be the first person to volunteer, no questions asked.

When Emmett released Alice from her hug he looked down at her and I could sense he was trying to get a read on her mood, trying to decide if something was bothering her, and if there was anything he could do to help if there was. I felt it when he decided to trust her to come to him if she needed him and then I saw him focus on me.

"What's up Edward? Hope you're not going to school in that outfit, I doubt you'll find a girl wearing sweat pants." And then he laughed at the idea.

Emmett liked to act as if I was single because girls were always turning me down. He thought it was funny that he had a girlfriend before I did. As if I would count Rose.

I rolled my eyes at him, "First, I have no plans to ask anyone at our school out, in sweat pants or otherwise, as you are already aware. Second, I'm staying home, so you guys can catch a ride with Rose today."

I mentally laughed, knowing that would put him out of sorts. We all hated driving with Rose, she was a bad driver.

Emmett and Rose had been dating for about six months now. Of everyone in our family, Rose and I have the most volatile relationship. We tolerate each other, on some level I even care about her, but we aren't each others favorite people. My relationship with Esme and Carlisle bothered her, and her selfishness bothered me. She likes to use me as a sort of punching bag when she's upset, which is actually kind of what triggered her and Emmett's relationship.

Emmett had a thing for Rose pretty much since she moved in. I picked up on it, but knew that he was trying to hide it so never said anything to him, or anyone else about it. Plus, I think secretly I was hoping he would get over it before he had the guts to do anything about it.

After Jasper and Alice started to go out Rose went on the attack, and it was me she came after. She would constantly mock me, constantly pick at me whenever I was around. Carlisle and Esme didn't really know what to do about it. They sensed it for what it was, her acting out her grief for her lost parents, but they couldn't seem to deflect her from taking it out on me. I think we were all a little afraid to make her face her grief, even I let her get away with it. I would fight back, but I pushed only so far.

One day it got worse then all the other times. She just wouldn't back off. Emmett kept trying to smooth things over, torn between his want to protect his brother and his feelings for this girl who was suffering so much hurt. And then she called me a disturbed freak who belonged in a mental institute, and Emmett just decided she had gone too far. He did the one thing we were all afraid to do, he told her she was being a selfish ass and to cut it out. It got a lot worse after that, but then it got better and Emmett and Rose became a couple. Rose apologized to me, at Emmett's insistence, and I forgave her, but we've never really been able to forget everything that happened. We do our best to be friendly, for Emmett's sake, but we'll never be close.

I looked up again as Rose then Jasper came down the stairs. Rose went over to Emmett, who gave her a big hug and a kiss, and Jasper went over and took Alice's hand. Alice looked over at me as I nodded my greetings to first Rose then Jasper and I signaled to her that Esme was in the kitchen and she turned with Jasper and headed back in that direction.

Rose and I might not get along all that well, but I consider her brother Jasper my best friend. He's not my brother like Emmett is, but I'm close to him in a way I'm not with Emmett. Not more so, just differently. When I need to talk something through Jazz is the one I go to. I guess I feel like we're equals. I don't feel the need to defend or protect with Jazz like I do with Em and Alice, and I can just relax and be me. There is no sibling bond defining our relationship, we're just two friends.

It probably should be weird for me that he's dating my sister, but it's not. I sense what she means to him and so I can be happy that they've found each other.

**********************************************

I turn off the TV as everyone headed to the kitchen for breakfast and follow after them. I know Esme won't want me to miss breakfast, even if I'm staying home for the day. This is an important ritual for her, and if I'm honest, for me too. It feels good knowing that we are a family, and our meals together are important reminders of that.

Breakfast was uneventful. Emmett tried a last ditch effort to get me to go to school, probably so he won't have to ride with Rose. They talked about the new girl due at Forks High today, Chief Swan's daughter. I'm pretty sure I'd heard somewhere that her name was Isabella. Anyway, I don't have enough interest in her to follow along with the conversation. My interest lies in getting out of Forks, not with who is coming in.

Before I knew it everyone was done eating and we started cleaning up. We try to always help Esme clean up from breakfast before we head out the door. I told them all to have fun and then as Emmett was getting ready to head out the door to the garage he leaned back in to try one last time to get me to go to school. I turned to see what Esme was doing, and as she had her back to us I gave him the finger and smiled at him and walked out of the kitchen as I heard him snort to himself.

As I heard them pull out of the garage I went upstairs to my room to shower.

Our house was three stories, with my room on the top floor. When you went up the stairs to the second floor Carlisle's office was the first door on the right. Off to the left of that was the guest bathroom, almost right across from the stairs. Rose's room and Alice's room were across from each other, one of either side of the hallway, with the master bedroom and the steps for the third floor at the end of the hall. Rose's room used to be Emmett's, but when Rose and Jazz moved in Carlisle and Esme decided to split up the girls from the guys, and moved Em upstairs with me and Jazz. I have the largest room of the kids, originally it was because I was the only one on the third floor. There's a little area in the back that is meant to be used almost like a little living room for the third floor, but we put a door on it and it became my room. There were two other bedrooms which Jazz and Em moved into, and I got to keep my larger bedroom. The girls both have their own bathroom, as do I, and Em and Jazz share one that connects their bedrooms.

It's a large house, seven bathrooms, seven bedrooms if you count mine and Carlisle's study. I would guess that it's probably the biggest in Forks, and it's also on really nice property bordering a stream. There's no way Carlisle and Esme would have been able to afford it on Carlisle's salary alone. He's a doctor and all, but he was young and just starting out when they bought the house, there's no way they would have been able to afford it then on his salary. But Carlisle's family had a lot of money, and as he was the only one left now he had inherited it all. Each of us kids has a trust fund he had set-up in our names. When we reach twenty-five we'll have access to it, until then it's off limits. Esme and Carlisle plan to pay for college for each of us, so we don't have to worry about that. We really are spoiled.

I finished up with my shower and headed downstairs to see what Esme was up to for the day. The first floor is set up like a big square. When you come down the stairs you're facing the front door and to the right of that is the living room. Along the stairs there is a hallway that goes back to the kitchen or you can go through the living room to the dining room to the kitchen. In the kitchen is an eating area where we actually do most of our eating, we usually only use the dining room for formal dinners. Through the kitchen is a den, which we call our game room and then a hallway which leads back to Esme's office area, another bathroom, and then the music room where the grand piano is, which opens back up to the stairs and the front door. The garage is off the kitchen in the back of the house.

I found Esme in her office on the phone with one of her friends. She was just hanging up as I leaned against the door. I was quiet as she wrote something in for appointment book and then stood up and walked over to me.

She brushed some of my hair out off of my face and then looked me in the eyes. "Everything okay Edward? You seem quiet today, more contemplative then usual. Should I be worried?"

I shook my head no and smiled at her. I should have known Esme would pick up on my mood, she's good at judging how we are really feeling.

"I'm good, I just need some time to think some things through. I'll be back to my normal self tomorrow." As I said it we turned and headed back out to the kitchen.

She gave stared at me for a minute before she finally asked, "You'll come to me if there's anything you need? Anything I can help you with, right?"

I shook my head just once, letting her know I would come to her if I needed to.

She must have felt a little more reassured because she grabbed her car keys off the table and got ready to head out. "I'm off for most of the day. I have some errands to do and then I have a lunch scheduled with my committee and then I'm going to stop and pick up some groceries on the way home. You remember that you're staying around the house today right? No driving anywhere unless it's an emergency."

I promised again that I would hang around the house and Esme kissed me on the cheek and headed out the door.

And finally I was alone.

******************************************

I spent the day lazing around trying to think through everything in my head. I went to my rock, a big flat rock and under a canopy of trees down by the stream on the back of our property, and hung out for a while. It's the perfect place to laze around and think. I try to figure out what's bringing me down, without much success. I think about what it will be like when I finally graduate high school and can leave Forks for college, hopefully far away. I eat lunch and take a nap, and spend the day doing a whole lot of nothing.

I come to the conclusion that I've let Forks, and the people in it, and the loneliness I've been feeling get to me too much. I decide to start looking at colleges, maybe on the east coast, thinking that planning my escape might help.

By the afternoon I feel a little better. I think it has helped being by myself all day, not having to worry about blocking out people's thoughts or keeping those around me from picking up on my morose mood. By the time Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Rose are due home I'm able to act like my old self again and I take that as a good sign.

I was at the piano working on a song I had been composing when I heard Rose's car pull into the driveway. I knew my peace and quiet for the day was over, but I didn't mind, I was starting to grow bored and was actually glad when the four of them walked in.

Emmett was the first one through the door and when I saw him I played Chopin's Funeral March making him laugh and flick me the finger. They all came walking into the music room and came over to the piano, Alice sitting next to me on the bench, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper leaning on the actual piano.

Alice leaned her head on my shoulder and looked up at me with her pouty face, and I knew what she was going to say before she even said it, without having to read her thoughts.

"You know what we want Edward, play the song." And before I could protest she whispered, "Pretty please?"

This was our thing. My family all loved the Piano Sonata No. 14, otherwise known as the Moonlight Sonata, by Beethoven. Whenever I sat at the piano they tried to get me to play it, and while I love the song it always exhausts me to play, my emotions running unchecked as my fingers glide over the keys. I usually try to wiggle out of playing, but with the four of them looking at me expectantly I knew it was just easier to give in this time.

I put my fingers on the keys and close my eyes and start playing. It's an emotional piece that takes a lot of my concentration, but it always sweeps me up as I'm playing it. As I'm playing everything fades from my consciousness, including my family standing around me.

For almost fifteen minutes I think of nothing but the music I'm playing. When I'm done the third movement I look up and around at my family. Emmett is the first to react and he smiles and offers his fist out to me for a bump.

"Nice, dude." I roll my eyes at him but tap his fist with mine anyway.

Rose snorts at us, "You two are ridiculously out of date."

Em laughed at her as he slung his arm over her shoulder, "Thanks babe, but what does that say about your taste? Dating someone as out as date as myself?"

She turned to walk away, calling out over her shoulder, "It says maybe it's time that I upgrade." But she laughed as she said it and we all knew she was joking.

Emmett followed her out the door towards the game room, waving at us as he headed out.

I turned to look at Jasper and then Alice, intending to ask how their day had gone but I could tell Alice was bursting at the seems to tell me something. "Well, what is it?" I asked before she got herself any more wound up.

She let out a breath and started talking at high speed. "I had another vision today during lunch and this time I was actually able to make out what it was about. The new girl, Chief Swan's daughter, I think my visions have all been about her. As soon as I saw her I had one and I could make out images this time. It was still chaotic and I still don't really understand it but I'm pretty sure she's going to become a part of our lives, become important to us."

I tried to keep up with her, but I knew it would help if I could get an actual sense of the vision she was having. "Alice, focus on your vision and tell me about it."

She closed her eyes, focusing on her vision. "Ok, it was jumbled visions, just bits and pieces. There was an image of her staring at herself in a mirror, dressed all in white with a red ribbon tied around her neck, there was a picture of you standing behind her house in the dark, staring up at what I would assume is her room, a flash of her running through the woods, a flash of her and I down at your rock."

As she spoke I focused on her thoughts, sensing her vision and she remembered it. I got a feel for it, but of course I couldn't see it the same way Alice was seeing it. Still, it was enough for me to see what she meant, this girl was somehow connected to us.

I focused on Alice again as she got quiet, "Well, that was interesting."

"I know, right?" She smirked at me.

Jasper cut it, "I don't know what it means for us though? Do we do anything about it? Why is she important enough for Alice to have visions about her?"

I shrugged, still thinking it through. "I don't know. I don't think we do anything. I mean what do we do, go up to her and tell her about Alice's visions? She'll think we're crazy. And anyway, we don't know what it means yet. It doesn't tell us how she's connected to us, or if we're supposed to do something specific. I think we just need to wait it out. If something is meant to happen it will happen."

I leaned on the piano as I thought it over. I can't imagine how I'm connected to this girl, I have no interest in her, don't really care to meet her, but Alice saw me standing outside her window. Maybe she was going to become close to Alice? There was a vision of the two of them together on my rock, that had to mean this girl was somehow important to her. If she became important to Alice I would end up having to meet her, be friendly with her. For Alice's sake I could, but it wasn't something I was looking forward to. I had just decided to focus on my plans for leaving Forks, not make more connections here.

I sighed loudly and got up. There was nothing I could do about it now, I hadn't even seen the girl yet.

"Let's go hang out with Rose and Em for a while before Esme gets home with the groceries." I had already started back toward the game room, and I heard the Alice, then Jasper following.

Alice caught up to me and grabbed my hand, giving it a quick squeeze before asking, "So do you think I was right and she'll be important to us?"

I looked down at her, "Well, I think she could be important to you anyway."

She frowned at me, I know that wasn't the answer she was looking for. As soon as she saw the image of me standing outside the girls house she probably started making all kinds of plans for me. No way I was encouraging them. Whatever this girl was she was nothing to me, and I'd rather her stay that way. I don't need any complications.

Alice could tell I wanted to drop it for now and let go of my hand to go grab Jaspers. We headed back to watch Rose and Emmett play for a while before Esme came home and we helped bring the groceries in and then went our separate ways till dinner.

It was a quiet lazy night around our house. I spent most of it lying in my room listening to music trying to figure out the things Alice had seen. I didn't manage to figure anything out before I passed out for the night.

**A/N:**

_Sorry guys and gals, I originally had in my summary that all the characters are human in my version and then today edited my summary and accidentally took it out. It's been fixed. Thanks Usc girl for bringing it to my attention!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them for a bit.**_

**A/N: **

_Okay, well this needs a bit of an explanation since I just updated earlier today saying this story was going on hiatus for a bit. Here's what happened. I had planned on trying to get this cleaned up and sent over to Twilighted to see if it would get accepted. Well, looking over it I just felt like it needed a LOT of work, and unlike my other story I'm working on, SHATTERED ILLUSIONS, this one wasn't that original or anything like that that made me felt like it was really something worth the work. So, I stopped working on it. I stopped like a week and a half ago, and started working on this other story. Today I finished the first chapter of the other story and went to clean up another project that I was working on and I thought I should let everyone know who had been reading Bella Begins that I was taking a break from it. I know when I'm reading a story I like to know what the status is on it._

_Anyway, I didn't anticipate so many more people reading it, and didn't anticipate people adding it to their favs list and subscription list, which made me feel guilty. Soooooo, now this is the comprimise I came up with. I'll continue with this story, but as a side project. Chapters will be smaller from now on, focusing on only one characters PoV instead of all three, like I had originally planned. As long as I'm still having fun writting this I'll keep going. _

_This is what I wrote last week before I gave up on it. This was meant to be only part of a chapter, but as I'm going with shorter chapters, and as I had Bella's PoV completed I figured I'd post what I had. Sorry again for confusing everyone, it was unintentional. Hopefully it wil be worth it in the end. Thanks for bearing with me!_

**Bella**

I woke the next day feeling a bit improved. I had survived my first day at Forks High, and it wasn't even a completely miserable experience, which was surprising. I wasn't quite looking forward to going back, but I wasn't dreading it either.

I pulled myself out of bed and hopped in the shower, mentally going over a list of the people I talked to yesterday, trying to keep their names fresh in my memory. I was bad at this, remembering peoples names, especially when I was being introduced to so many new people at once. The last thing I want to do is embarrass myself and accidentally mix up someone's names or something.

After I was showered, dried, and dressed I headed downstairs. I was pretty sure Charlie was already gone, but the note on the table confirmed it. I'd have to remember to tell him that he didn't have to leave a note every morning. I grabbed my lunch money and shoved it in my pocket and pulled out the cereal. I've never been real big on breakfast, preferring cereal to eggs or pancakes or the likes.

When I was done eating I washed my bowl and checked my watch, deciding it was time to head out. I grabbed my bag and my books and keys and headed out to my truck. I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually sunny out, and I was sure this was a good omen. Perhaps I'll have a good day today.

I pulled into the parking lot and realized I was a good fifteen minutes early. I was really glad I brought my book with me. I found a bench in the sun and pulled it out to read. I loved reading, have since I was a kid, I'll read pretty much anything but am currently on a classics kick. I was smack dab in the middle of A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens at the moment when I started to notice the noise around me had increased in volume.

I looked up to see the parking lot about half full and people heading into school. I figured I'd head in and was just putting my book in my bag when I heard it. Someone was playing Debussy's Clair de Lune, one of my favorite songs and one not normally heard played at a high school. I looked around to see where it was coming from and thought that it was originating from a white car that had just pulled into the parking lot. The car doors started to open and I realized the car belonged to the Cullen kids from lunch yesterday.

The beautiful blond girl, I think Jessica said her name was Rosalie, got out with an annoyed look at her face talking to the driver who had yet to get out of the car. "God Edward, do we _have_ to listen to that in the mornings? I almost fell asleep three times. We either listen to something more upbeat or I'm driving from now on."

As she spoke everyone else was getting out of the car and I recognized her brothers and sister, they were laughing at their sister, enjoying her annoyance.

I was sitting there trying to remember all of their names when the driver door opened and I saw him. He wasn't at their table yesterday so I assumed he was the fifth Cullen, the one Jess said was absent, Edward. He was facing away from me and I could tell he was tall, a lot taller then I was anyway. Maybe 6'2 or 6'3. His hair was bronze colored and a little chaotic. He had a jacket on so it was hard to tell, but he looked pretty slender, yet muscular.

The whole time I had been watching him he had his back turned, leaning into the car getting his stuff together. His brothers and sisters were all out of the car hanging around, obviously waiting on him. Finally he stood up and closed the door and turned around and I had my first look at his face. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat and I literally was frozen in my spot. He had the most beautiful face I had ever seen. As beautiful as his blonde haired sister was he was more so, just in a less obvious way. He had on sunglasses and I found myself wishing that he would take them off and look at me so I could see what his eyes looked like. No high school student should be allowed to look that good, it was distracting. I found myself torn, both hoping I wouldn't have any classes with him so I didn't have to try to concentrate with him in the room, and secretly hoping he was in all of my classes so that I could stare at him.

I was ridiculous, and seriously needed to collect myself. He was a boy, just like every other high school boy I was surrounded by all day long. I shouldn't be reacting like this. Still, I couldn't stop myself from staring at him until he was inside the school and out of site. I was really glad the first time I saw him was while I was sitting alone to the side of the parking lot, at least this way I didn't embarrass myself in front of all of my classmates.

I realized I had to hurry to my locker to get my books and get to English or I was going to be late. Somehow I managed to make it to class on time. I sat down and smiled over at Angela and mouthed a "hi" to her as Mrs. Williet started her lecture.

All through class my mind wandered while I tried to remember exactly what Jessica had said about the absent Edward yesterday. I hadn't thought the information that important at the time so hadn't really focused on it, and now I didn't want to be obvious and have to ask her about him again. Maybe when she saw him at lunch she would point him out herself and tell me about him.

I gave myself a little mental kick as I realized how obsessed my thoughts and gotten and chided myself for being such a _girl._ When the bell rang and I gathered my things I told myself that this would be the last class I spent obsessing over someone I had only seen for like two minutes and hadn't even talked to yet. What was wrong with me anyway?

After class Angela and I again walked from English to Trig together. Of everyone I met yesterday I think I liked Angela the best. She seemed a little shy but genuinely friendly and sweet. I hoped that we would have the chance to get to know each other better.

As soon as we exited the classroom she turned to me and asked, "So, how is your second day going? Do you think you'll be able to stand it here in Forks or are you too homesick?"

I thought it over for a second, trying to decide how I did feel. "I guess today isn't as bad as yesterday, I don't feel like I'm the focus of everyone's attention as much as I was yesterday, which is a big improvement. I'm homesick, but not horribly so, I think I'll survive."

And it was true, I was homesick but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I still wished I was back home with Renee in Phoenix, but it wasn't going to kill me living in Forks for a little while.

We walked into the Trig classroom and I almost stopped dead in my tracks, there in the seat next to mine, which yesterday had been empty, sat Edward Cullen. I recovered before I completely embarrassed myself, and kept walking. Edward was reading a book when I got to my desk and didn't even bother looking over at me. Part of me was frustrated because I was hoping to get a chance to look at his eyes, but the other part of me was relieved, I wasn't sure if I was ready to actually meet Edward. I don't think I could take it if I did something embarrassing while trying to have a conversation with him.

Mr. Genson went up to the board and started writing his lesson. Edward put his book down on the desk but kept reading, occasionally looking up at the board, but for the most part completely ignoring the class at large and poor Mr. Genson. I found myself wondering how I was going to pass Trig when Edward sitting next to me was proving so distracting.

Finally the bell took mercy on me and rang and I gathered my things and turned to leave, Edward had already walked out the door, never once bothering to look over at me.

I met up with Jess in History and she started talking almost as soon as we sat down. I guessed that our teacher was running late between classes because his desk was still empty. Jess apparently planned to take full advantage of this and get as much chatting in as possible.

"So, it looks like you get to see the great Edward Cullen today. I passed him earlier in the hallway so I know he's here. He'll be in lunch with us and I'll point him out to you." She almost sneered when she said his name and I wondered what that was about. I decided not to bother telling her I'd already seen him as she seemed excited about pointing him out to me at lunch.

She only paused for a second before she moved on to the next subject, apparently done with Edward till lunch. For the next five minutes she talked non-stop, only requiring the occasional nod from me to show I was listening. I was almost relieved when our teacher finally walked in and she had to stop.

After class I told her I'd see her at lunch and headed off to Spanish. I met up with Mike about halfway there and we chatted about our Spanish homework as we walked to class. We got paired up again to work on our assignment for the day and again Mike and I worked together. I wondered if this was going to be a daily thing in this class. In my old Spanish class back in Phoenix we hardly ever got paired up during class. On the plus side it helped class go by faster. I was a little more at ease with Mike today and we actually had fun while working on the assignment. At one point Mike asked me if I planned on sitting with them at lunch, and thinking back to Jessica's conversation earlier in the day I told him most likely.

When the bell rang I decided to head back to my locker before lunch and drop off my books. I told Mike I'd catch up to him in a few minutes and we headed in separate directions.

I got to lunch pretty quickly and stood in line to buy a salad. I looked over at the table I sat at yesterday and waved to Jess and Angela that I'd be over in a minute. I casually looked over at the table the Cullen's had sat at yesterday to see if any of them were there. The small girl who had stared at me yesterday was already at the table, I think Jess said her name was Alice, and her boyfriend, the blonde boy whose name I couldn't remember, were both already sitting down. Alice was looking at me again, but casually, and she looked away before I got uncomfortable again.

I grabbed the salad I wanted and a bottle of water and paid and headed to the table. I sat down and said hi to everyone and then looked over at the Cullen table again. This time he was there, sitting between Alice and the bigger kid, Everett or Emmett or something like that. I looked over at him at the same time he looked over at me and our eyes locked and I could see that, like his sister, his eyes were green. He was even more beautiful when you factored in his eyes, and for the first time I found myself wishing that I was more beautiful, that I looked more like the Rosalie's or the Alice's of the world.

I couldn't look away, I knew he would have to be the one to break eye contact. I couldn't read his face, couldn't tell what he was thinking when he looked at me. And then he turned to his sister and it was over and I was able to breath again.

And right then I knew beyond a doubt that Edward Cullen was going to be a problem for me.

**A/N: **

_The next chapter will be from Alice's PoV. I was partway into it when I stopped working on it, so it is at least started, but I'm going to write out the next chapter of Shattered Illusions before I finish Alice's chapter. So most likely it will take a few days before this gets updated again. _

Reviews are lovely, just like you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. As does the characters.**

**A/N:**

_Ok, keep in mind this isn't Beta'd, so try to forgive me and have patience with my mistakes. This is just sort of a side project I'm doing for fun. So, I have to say it was really fun writing Alice this go around. I tried to think like Alice and I think I was at least somewhat successful. Hope you like it, next chapter will be from Edward's point of view. Yay right? lol._

_*********************************_

**Alice**

I couldn't wait for school. I was so excited to see the new girl again and to see Edward's reaction to her that I was practically bouncing off the walls, and I knewI was annoying everyone in my house but I just couldn't care.

We had just finished cleaning up from breakfast and I was ready to shuffle everyone into the car so we could get going, totally excited for school. I shouldn't be, it wasn't like I thought anything monumental was going to happen today. In fact, I doubted it would.

Yesterday when I told Edward about the vision I had about the Swan girl, and then asked him what he thought, I could feel him lock up. I just knew he was going to try to resist the pull from this girl. He was not going to make this easy for me, that was sure.

Still, I wasn't worried. I knew in the end that I was going to win this one. I had many things working for me and he only had one, his stubbornness. As useful a weapon as that could be I doubted it would save him this time.

I couldn't stop myself from giggling out loud a little and Emmett, who was standing closest to me, looked over at me as if I'd lost my mind a little.

"What?" I asked him, then tried to play it off like I was just annoyed at how long it was taking us to get out the damn door. "Come on people, let's get moving. You're slower than molasses today."

I smiled cheekily and then spun and walked out the door, knowing that if I stayed I'd hear a round of complaints. Seriously though, I could have been to school and back in the time it's taken them to get their act together and get in the car. I was ready for this day to start. I wanted to see her!

We finally made it into the car. Edward was driving today which made us all feel a little better, except Rosalie of course, who had no idea we were all terrified of her driving.

I grabbed Jasper's hand and laid my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes, and tried to calm down some. This day would go intolerably slow if I didn't calm down enough to remember that they probably wouldn't even talk today.

Oh god, I wish they would though. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to introduce myself to her. I wanted to be her friend, and I wanted her to think of me as a friend, and I wanted to sit on the rock by the stream with her like I saw in my vision and I wanted her to fall madly in love with Edward, and I…wait. What?

I wanted her to fall in love with Edward? Did I? Was that what this was about? I mean, I guess it would be nice if Edward had someone. Come to think of it, I guess he did seem lonely lately. I mean, happy couples were surrounding him all the time, that would probably make the most independent person a bit lonely. Oh, poor Edward. Now I felt bad. I hadn't really thought of the extent his loneliness must be right now. Shit. I wonder if that made me a bad sister? Well, if it did I was going to fix it by helping him get the Swan girl, which would make me a very good sister. Hehehe.

So if the Swan girl fell in love with him he would have someone and wouldn't be lonely anymore. I was jealous for a minute when I thought about it, wondering where that would leave me. Then I felt Jaz's hand in mind and remembered that would leave me totally in love still and with a brand new shiny friend. Goody!

I was not doing a good job at calming down. If anything I was even more excited now.

Before I knew it we were in the school parking lot and pulling into a space. I gave Jaz a kiss and then got out of the car. I heard Rosalie complaining about the music Edward had on in the car on, Debussy apparently, and realized I hadn't even registered that we were listening to anything. I must have really been off in my own world.

I laughed with the others at Rosalie's annoyance, not wanting to give away that I hadn't been paying attention. We waited a minute for Edward to get organized and out of the car so we could head in. I was getting ready to lean on the car while I waited when I sensed something and started to look nonchalantly around the parking lot.

I saw her then off to the side. She had a book in her hand but was looking at us. She hadn't noticed that I'd caught sight of her because she was watching Edward getting himself together, I guessed that she was probably curious about the absent Cullen she'd probably heard about yesterday. Jessica Stanley was such a gossip I doubted the Swan girl wasn't up to speed on all of our histories by now, even if she hadn't wanted to know them.

As I watched her I could tell the exact second Edward had stood up and the Swan girl finally got a good look at him. I could see it in her face. I watched as a myriad of emotions crossed her face and new by the time she gained control again that the pull I was sure Edward would feel towards her was going to run both directions.

Excellent. It would go both ways then. That would make this easier. I wanted to hop up and down with joy, but instead I went over and wrapped my arm around Jasper's waist. I knew if I continued to sit there watching her she would notice me, or one of my family would.

We started walking towards school as a group and Jasper put his arm around my shoulder tucking me into the side of his body. I smiled to myself in response. Jaz would be my one distraction today. I wished we could skip class so he could spend an hour or so distracting me a little, but I doubt that would go over well with our teachers if we got caught.

At my locker I grabbed what I would need for my first couple of classes and walked with Jasper to his locker so he could pick up his things. While I waited for him to get his stuff together I looked around at all of our classmates.

As I looked over at all the familiar faces I thought for probably the thousandth time how much nicer Forks High would look if I was just allowed to dress everyone. I wouldn't have to do it like everyday or anything, but if I could just go with them to pick out clothes we'd probably all be much happier. It would improve the general atmosphere of the place.

I daydreamed about it a lot, being able to pick out everyone's clothes. I would find the perfect styles for everyone, no one would ever look frumpy again. I'd make sure everyone only bought clothes that complimented their skin tones, instead of turning them green or something, which I once saw happen with a perfectly nice girl.

When I was bored in class I liked to draw the clothes I would put on the people around me, instead of the ones they were wearing. I drew up a very basic female model, and a very basic male model and photocopied a bunch of each. I always had a few of the male drawings and a few of the female drawings on me at all times, that way if the mood hit I could pull a sheet out and start right in on the clothes. It was my favorite distraction.

Jasper kissed me on the cheek and I realized it was time to head to class, I gave him a smile and a kiss back and we headed off.

Just before I got to my first class I thought to myself how fun it would be to draw clothes for the Swan girl. I didn't think my good mood could get any better, but it somehow managed to pick up some more when I thought about it. A new project. Wonderful.

************************************************

I was so glad I had come up with my new little project that morning otherwise the day would have gone by incredibly slow. I was so excited to get to lunch that it felt like every minute was equal to an hour. Why is it that whenever you're looking forward to something it seems to take forever for it to get there?

Finally though it was lunchtime. I skipped into the cafeteria, and as usual I was the first at our table to arrive. I sat down in my seat and stared at the doorway in anticipation.

This was when he'd finally see her. At least, I thought it would be, I actually had no idea if they'd had any classes together yet. Hmmmm. I'd never thought of that. Poo. What if they'd already seen each other and I missed it? That would mean I would have missed out on Edward's reaction to her, and if I missed it I was sure it would take me forever to get through his stubbornness and get him to tell me what he really thought when he'd first seen her.

Maybe I was lucky though and they hadn't had any classes together yet. Why didn't I have any classes with her? I pouted a little as I thought how fun that would be and wondered if there was any way I'd be able to get them to change my schedule around a little bit, this far into the year. Probably not. Oh well, it was a nice thought anyway.

Jasper was the first to arrive, taking the seat next to me. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, but didn't stop watching the entranceway. Then the Swan girl, Isabella I'd finally heard her name was, walked in and I watched her get into line. I saw her look over at our table and notice me looking at her so I forced myself to look away, trying to be casual about it. I didn't want to freak her out.

I finally turned to Jasper just as Rosalie came over and sat down followed by Emmett who surprisingly had brought a lunch that day. Jasper took a bite of his sandwich, pastrami and swiss, which I personally found disgusting but he seemed to love, and then started talking to me.

"How's your day been so far? I feel like it's been forever since we talked," he said.

I laughed a little at his poke at me for being so distracted today. "I feel like this has been the longest day in history, but it's ok. I'm just excited. I want to see how Edward reacts to Isabella."

"Isabella?" he asked.

"Yeah, the new girl. Chief Swan's daughter. I found out her name is Isabella. Wasn't hard really as everyone is talking about her. How'd you not hear?"

It was a question, but at the same time I already knew the answer. Some things Jasper just didn't pay much attention to, and gossip about the new girl was probably one of those things.

I knew I was right when he shrugged at me and went back to his sandwich.

Then, finally, Edward walked into the cafeteria. He was one of the last students in. I quickly looked over to Isabella's table to see if she was sitting down yet or not and didn't see her so figured she must still be in line.

Edward sat down and then greeted us all and pulled out his lunch. I smiled at him when he looked over at me, but didn't bother talking. I was content to sit in silence, waiting to see what would happen. Ooooohhhh, the excitement.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Isabella finally find her seat at her table, but didn't turn to look at her. My focus was completely on Edward. I watched as he casually looked around the room and then watched as he looked over in her direction.

As his gaze finally found Jessica's table, where Isabella was sitting, Edward's whole body tensed up, and I knew he finally saw her. He sat frozen for a few seconds, completely tense, as if he wasn't sure what would happen if he relaxed his body. I don't know how long it lasted, it felt like hours but I was sure it was probably only a few seconds. I could see his internal struggle to relax and look away from her. I smiled in satisfaction, even as I saw him win his battle and look away from her.

He turned towards me and I could see he was dazed, even as he tried to hide it. I would have laughed out loud in delight if I didn't think it would have been a little mean of me.

He took a bite of his sandwich and then asked me, "What?"

I couldn't help myself, after waiting all day I wasn't going to let this moment simply pass me by.

"Soooooo. What did you think?" I knew the question would annoy him.

"What did I think of what, Alice?" he asked.

"Of the new girl of course. Her name is Isabella Swan in case you hadn't heard yet." I couldn't stop the satisfaction I was feeling from entering my voice a little.

By this time I knew Jasper was listening into our conversation as well, though Rose and Em seemed to be in their own world. Jasper watched Edward curiously, every now and then peeking over at Isabella's table, curious a little by now I guessed.

Edward rolled his eyes, saying, "Alice. I haven't even seen the new girl yet, so how would I know what I think of her. She's nobody to me, so I doubt I'll see fireworks or anything upon seeing her. Just another Forks High student to join the masses."

I had to give it to him, he was a good liar when he wanted to be. If I hadn't just witnessed first hand his reaction to her I might have even believed him.

Fortunately for me I'd seen it all first hand so knew the lie for what it was. I was however, willing to humor my brother this one time. It was enough for me that he'd had such a reaction to her, I didn't think it was necessary to rub it in his face.

I smirked over at him, two could play this game. "Whatever you say brother mine. Just be careful. If those fireworks do happen you don't want anything to go up in flames around you."

I let him make of that what he would, and turned to give Jasper my attention for a while. I'd been ignoring him too much today.

When lunch ended I grabbed my stuff as we all headed out. I thought over Edward's reaction to Isabella again, more than satisfied with how it went.

I knew there was something there between them, and I knew it wasn't just one sided. Edward's reaction was just as strong as Isabella's was. Maybe even more so. While Isabella's emotions seemed to play out easily across her face the first time she saw my brother, Edward had to almost violently fight to keep his in check. I saw every second of that internal struggle and knew how hard he fought to hold still and not give away his emotions in that moment.

This was going to be even better then I had thought. Oh, I knew he would still fight it. Fight our, or at least his, connection to her. But I knew now that it was a useless struggle. No matter how hard he would fight admitting it, to me or even to himself, something within him had already decided he wanted Isabella Swan for himself. The only question now was, what would get him to finally own up to it?

I smiled to myself in anticipation. He didn't know it yet, but I was sure of it now. My brother was going to find love. I thought about that for a second and realized that probably wasn't exactly right. Edward would probably do everything in his power to avoid love. In the end though, love would find him, and I was sure it was going to end up hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Oh yes. This was going to be fun.

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**A/N:**

_I will survive_

_As long as you review my work_

_I know I will survive_

_What with all these plots to link_

_If you tell me what you think_

_I'll survive_

_I will survive_

_Just having some fun with you. ;) Thanks everyone who read!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer, as if any of us didn't know that.**_

_**A/N:**_

_Ok, so I had no intention of updating this so quickly, but I was excited to write Edward's PoV for when he finally sees Bella that I couldn't put it off. Remember, I'm just doing this for fun so am not making anyone try to Beta it for me, that would be mean, so please be kind over any mistakes that might pop up._

_First let me say that I use music to get me in the mood for my characters. When I want to write Alice I listen to fun, silly stuff, preferably from the eighties. My favs are Land Down Under by Men At Work, and Africa by Toto. I don't know why they just get me in the mood for Alice. When I'm trying to write Edward I play Incubus and Evanescence, depending on which mood I'm trying to capture. Tonight I played Incubus all the way up till the cafeteria scene, then switched to Evanescance. Just telling you in case you want to listen to any of it while reading._

_Oh, lots of things to chat about. Ok. So, must warn you there's some cursing here. I throw in the occasional curse word here and there, because I tend to think we all curse at least a little. At one point though the F word get's thrown around a bit here, but that's because Edward has reached the end of his control and needs to vent a little. I won't normally feature the F word so much though, unless I feel the situation calls for it._

_Lastly, I think. I read through this chapter and realized it was pretty anti-clamatical for all the build-up over the whole E seeing B for the first time thing. So, I went back and added goodies. Not a lot, not at this point anyway. I just hope it was enough to satisfy you for the moment._

_Oh lied. This is the last thing I promise. Next chapter will be from Bella's PoV. Fun, right? Have fun. Hope you enjoy the yumminess that is Edward._

_***************************************************_

**Edward**

I knew Alice was going to be a pain. I could tell as soon as I came downstairs that morning and felt the excitement radiating in the air around her. It didn't take my special little talent to see that she was excited over this girl.

I felt a moment of frustration when I thought about how this would probably play out. I loved my sister, but she definitely does not do things half-assed, and I would be willing to wager good money that she was going to do everything in her power to bring this girl into our lives. While I would never begrudge Alice a new friend, I knew she thought this girl was supposed to be in both of our lives, and I had no interest in her beyond that of my sister's friend. Whatever Alice was planning, and she was doing her best to hide it from me, it wasn't going to work.

I had no room in my life for someone new. I had everyone I needed already around me, and they were enough. It was going to be hard enough when it came time for me to break away from this place, I didn't need another string pulling me back.

I needed more than this place. My family was almost enough, but the sadness and loneliness I felt all the time here was getting to be too much, and I needed to be free for a while. I would never be able to leave my family completely, I loved them too much, but I definitely needed to get far away. If I was honest with myself I would wish that my family would come with me, but I knew they loved it here.

As much as I would love to beg Alice to come with me when I left, I couldn't do that to her, make her choose between me and Carlilse and Esme. I knew she wouldn't have to choose between me and Jasper, because I knew in the end he would follow wherever she went. But it wasn't fair to rip her away from our parents, and I knew she would come if I just asked, but it would have meant leaving too big of a piece of her heart behind.

No, I would not try to stop Alice from making friends with the Swan girl, but I had no intention of letting her into my life.

Alice impatiently hustled us out the door and into the car in her hurry to get to school. It was almost funny how excited she was to go to school just to see this girl. She was trying to hide it, but I saw through it and I knew Jasper did as well. He kept looking over at me to see if I was going to react. I hopped into the driver seat and put in my CD and pulled out of the driveway.

School that day was a blur. I zoned out for most of the day. I don't think I noticed a single person around me during my morning classes. I was thinking over Alice's vision and trying to figure out why she was having them about this girl. There had to be a reason beyond her becoming Alice's friend. Was Alice, or any of us even, supposed to do something? To help her in some way? Was she supposed to help us? Alice had never just randomly picked up on strangers before like this. Even with Jasper and Rosalie, she didn't get anything on them until after we'd actually met. Which is why I thought there had to be more to this vision then we'd yet to figure out.

The next thing I knew it was lunch and I was wondering where the morning had gone. I must have really been zoning out for the day to pass this quickly. I was so out of it that I had to make a run to my locker, since I hadn't bothered bringing my lunch with me to my last class, which I usually did to save time.

I was one of the last ones into the cafeteria and I headed right over to our table, where everyone had already congregated. I could feel Alice's excitement level had gone through the roof since I'd seen her this morning, so I assumed the Swan girl must be here somewhere.

I pulled my sandwich out and started checking out the cafeteria, not looking for the new girl, just taking note of everyone, getting a feel for the general mood. It was then that I looked over at Jessica Stanley's table.

She was sitting there between Jessica, the hag, and Angela Webber. She had brown hair that I could just tell was soft as silk, which hung in loose waves down her back and over her shoulders. She was beautiful, in a very natural way. I was still unconcerned, there were plenty of beautiful girls around.

Then she looked over at me and our eyes locked and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I locked my body in place to resist the urge I felt to stand up, for what reason I was terrified of finding out. It took every ounce of my strength to not react, to not get up and go over to her, to not stand up and yell for her, to not let my face betray my emotions, to not do any number of things that my body so obviously wanted to do.

She was just a girl, just a girl like any other girl. She was beautiful, but not in a way that made her stand out. She had brown hair, she was of medium height, I could see now that her eyes were a deep brown, nothing extraordinary. And yet, when our eyes met I knew something had happened, something had changed within me somehow.

I wanted this girl. I wanted her like I had never wanted anyone else before. I wanted to run my hands through her hair, and I wanted to taste her mouth. I wanted to know every inch of her body. I wanted to do things I had only previously imagined doing, and I wanted to do them with this girl I hadn't even met yet.

The worst part was, it wasn't just physical. I wanted to know her. I wanted to know who she was. I wanted to know where she came from, what she liked, what she didn't, what she was afraid of, what she hoped for. I wanted to lay in bed all day with her and just find out who she was. But most importantly, I wanted to know what she was thinking right this second. I wondered if she thought any of these things when she looked at me, or if I was just another boy to her.

I don't know how long we sat there staring at each other like that, but I knew I had to look away. I thought about Alice sitting there next to me witnessing the whole thing, and that was enough to finally help me turn my head. Such a little movement, turning your head, and yet I had to put all of my effort into it.

I somehow managed to look over at my sister, take a bite of my sandwich, and in my calmest voice ask her, "What?"

I knew I wasn't fooling her, but I had to play this game while my head frantically sifted through everything, trying to make sense of what just happened. I had to buy time and get control over the situation.

"Soooooo. What did you think?" Alice asked.

"What did I think of what, Alice?" Answering a question with a question, all the while outwardly gaining more and more control.

"Of the new girl of course. Her name is Isabella Swan in case you hadn't heard yet," Alice answered.

I rolled my eyes at her, and tried to find some kind of inner calm as I answered, "Alice. I haven't even seen the new girl yet, so how would I know what I think of her. She's nobody to me, so I doubt I'll see fireworks or anything upon seeing her. Just another Forks High student to join the masses."

I thought I managed to pull that last part off rather well, for a second I thought I might have even fooled Alice. Then she answered.

"Whatever you say brother mine. Just be careful. If those fireworks do happen you don't want anything to go up in flames around you." Then she turned to Jasper, not waiting for my reply.

I wanted to get out of that cafeteria. I wanted away from Isabella Swan, as far away from her as I could manage to get. She was still an unknown to me, still just a stranger. If I fought this, whatever this was, if I kept my distance, if I avoided her as much as possible, and especially if I didn't look her in the eyes, maybe I could forget about this little incident. It would be like it never happened, and really, it was only like a thirty second stare down, so nothing did actually happen.

Nothing had changed. Isabella, that was a pretty name I had to admit, Isabella would remain a stranger to me. I would avoid her as much as humanly possible, my sister would be her friend, and we'd all be happy. That was the best way. Maybe I had exaggerated the whole incident anyway. I was just feeling melodramatic after moping around all day yesterday and then spacing out all day today. I'm sure it wouldn't happen again.

I was feeling better, more confident now. I even managed to avoid looking back over at her again the rest of lunch. Good. Perfect actually. It showed me that this could be done, and that I probably had just imagined the whole thing. I smiled a little at myself. Obviously I had this well under control.

***************************************

FUCK!!!!!

Fuck me. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

She was in my fucking biology class!

Not only was she in my fucking biology class but she was assigned the seat next to mine! We shared a lab table, which meant we'd be lab partners.

What the fuck? Why couldn't I catch a break here? Was it too much to ask that I not be forced into such close proximity with the one person I desperately wanted to avoid right now?

Who the hell did I piss off anyway that the universe felt the need to kick me around like this? Fuckety fuck fuck.

I knew it was immature, but I couldn't stop myself from having my little tantrum. I wanted to be far away from Isabella Swan, and yet I was going to have to sit just two fucking feet away from her for the next hour.

She was already sitting down, and as I walked up the aisle to my seat I saw her watching my progress. She turned slightly to look at the empty chair next to her as it registered where I must have been heading. She looked up at me with wide eyes and then turned away, trying to hide the play of emotions across her face.

Good. It looks like I wasn't going to be the only one uncomfortable here. I knew it was wrong of me, but I was getting enjoyment out of the fact that she was looking as unhappy about the present situation as I was feeling.

I nodded slightly at her before sitting down, choosing not to introduce myself to her. No need for niceties, no need to pretend. I would refrain from being rude to her, for my sister's sake, but whatever happened back there in the cafeteria, I was going to squash it out of my memory.

She nodded lightly in response and I felt satisfaction that it looked like she would follow my lead. We would politely ignore each other. I knew it was the best way. Best for both of us really, I had nothing to offer her, nothing I could give.

I tried to pay attention to the lecture, but failed miserably. I knew it all already anyway, which was why I didn't have to be worried about being called on. I was never called on anymore, my teachers were tired of me always knowing the answer.

I tried to occupy my mind with anything but thoughts of the girl next to me. For forty-five minutes I succeeded. For forty-five minutes I thought of my favorite movies, the best baseball games I'd ever seen, what my last meal would be if I knew it was my last, where I'd go if I could go anywhere in the world, and whatever else would keep me from thinking about her. I was doing so good and only had to make it through another fifteen minutes. It should have been simple.

I heard Isabella's name called out and looked over at her before I could stop myself. I saw her tense up a little, and felt her hesitate before correctly answering the question.

As soon as I heard her voice it started all over again. It was worse than in the cafeteria, a lot worse. It was worse because she was within touching distance and I so wanted to touch. She was right there next to me, all I had to do was reach out and I would be able to feel her skin under my hands, to sink my hands into her hair. It was almost unbearable and I wondered desperately how anyone could have this kind of reaction to a stranger.

I would have been pissed off by it all if I wasn't trying to deal with fighting the urge to reach out for her, trying all the while to retain my sanity. It helped to realize we were in the middle of the classroom surrounded by people, and I was a stranger to her. I doubt she would thank me for reaching over and yanking her into my lap and kissing her until she forgot her own name.

I don't know why I would react like this to her. I've never had anything like this happen to me, never felt something this strong. It was a physical thing, a physical pull to her. Fighting it was draining me and I didn't know how I would make it through the next couple of minutes.

I felt my hand moving out towards her and cursed it for it's treachery in my mind. The last thing I needed right now was my body parts getting minds of their own. That would be very bad.

I wanted to lean in and smell her hair, but knew that would be creepy. I kept hoping for a wind that would blow her scent towards me, but it never came and I knew it was probably for the best. I was having a hard enough time as it was controlling myself, no reason to make it harder.

Somehow I survived till the end of class. The bell rang and everyone started gathering up their stuff and I sat there not moving yet. I watched Isabella next to me getting her things together. I would wait till she left, till it was safe, before I would gather up my own things and head off to my next class.

She stood and turned away from me to leave, and as she took a step away I couldn't stop myself. I didn't even know I was going to do it, had made no conscious decision, it just happened. As she was about to walk away, saving me from myself, I couldn't stop myself from talking to her.

"Edward," I called out to her.

She stopped, unmoving for a second before she slowly turned back to me.

"Excuse me?" she asked, the confusion showing clearly on her face.

And again, before I could think or stop myself, I answered. "Edward. My name's Edward Cullen."

She looked me over before finally seeing whatever it was she was looking for, and said simply, "Bella Swan."

I took a deep breath and said, "It's nice to meet you Bella Swan."

Then I did the only thing I could do to try one last time to save myself. I stood up and walked out of the classroom, and just kept going. Before I knew it I was parked in front of my house, not even caring that I'd left my siblings behind to find their own way home.

**********************************************

**A/N:**

_So. What did you think? Was it everything you hoped for? Do you love Edward yet or hate him? Don't get too cosy with either emotion, I plan to blur the lines a bit. hehehe._

_Love to know what you think so far._

_Be kind, review. ;)_

_Seriously though, I'm not trying to beg for reviews or anything, I just like hearing back from you all, and it helps me know if I'm going in the right direction or need to think about making some changes._

_Thanks for reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.....still.**

**A/N:**

_Ok, definitely not my favorite chapter. I'm having a hard time finding Bella's voice. I've found both Alice's and Edward's easily, and I'm frustrated by how hard of a time I'm having trying to do the same with Bella. Anyway, please have patience with my Bella chapters for now. I'm doing the best I can trying to capture her._

_Again, excuse any mistakes in grammar and punctuation and all that as I haven't asked anyone to Beta this (I do have a lovely Beta who does all my other stories for me, but felt it would be mean to try to make her wade through this) oh, and definitely excuse my slips in tense! I'm admittedly bad with that._

_Yeah kiddos, this is a long one. I totally meant to keep chapters short from now on and have failed miserably. I think this might be my longest yet. I hope in the end it's worth it though, but you'll have to be the judge of that._

_I think that's it. Next chapter will be Alice's PoV, and definitely not as long as this one! I hope to make it simple and short. Ok, have fun (I hope)._

_*************************************************_

**Bella**

The rest of lunch was excruciating. I kept peeking over at him, couldn't seem to stop myself. I don't know what happened there in our little moment, but I felt like something had definitely happened.

Jessica confirmed that he was in fact Edward Cullen, the absent brother from yesterday. I was glad that she hadn't noticed me staring at him when I first sat down, she was too wrapped up in a conversation with Mike. I had a feeling that she had a thing for Mike, but had no idea if he returned the sentiment.

I barely paid attention to the conversations going on around me. Every once in a while someone would ask me a question, or direct a comment to me, but I didn't encourage it. I needed to think about what the hell was happening.

I'd never had this kind of reaction to a guy. I'd gone out on a few dates back home but never really felt a connection to anyone. I didn't even really have any big crushes. I don't know why, there were nice guys back home who were decent looking. I guess none of them ever appealed to me though, not in a boyfriend kind of way anyway.

Now here I am on my second day at a new school and I'm almost obsessed over some guy I hadn't even known. Sure, he was good looking, but so were both of his brothers, and yet I wasn't drooling all over them. It was true that they had girlfriends and Edward Cullen was unattached, but I felt nothing but distant curiosity over their good looks while I was intensely attracted to Edward on first sight.

I didn't believe in fate or any of that kind of thing. I've always believed in free will, that we all make our own destinies, but if I had believed in destiny I would be forced to say that it was pushing me towards Edward for some reason.

I definitely did not go with that theory though. Whatever was there between us had nothing to do with fate or destiny. Hell, I didn't even know if it was two sided. I know we had a moment, but I had no clue what was on the other side of that moment, what Edward was feeling.

He probably thought I was pretty strange, staring at him like that. I also hadn't considered the fact that he was absent yesterday, which means this was probably the first time he'd seen me, since he didn't bother looking over at me in class earlier. Maybe that's why he was looking at me the way he was.

Oh god, now I'm probably the crazy new girl to him, who stared him down during lunch. I groaned to myself in embarrassment. That's great, and just my luck.

I sighed loudly and Angela, who was sitting next to me, looked over at me in obvious concern. I inwardly scolded myself, the last thing I needed was more people thinking I was crazy, and smiled assuredly at her.

Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. I grabbed my books and headed off to Biology, thankful to get away from Edward Cullen, and hopefully forget him for a little while. He'd been on my mind too much that day already.

I sat down at my lab table I was assigned to yesterday, waiting for the class to fill up. I hadn't bothered going to my locker between the bells, figuring it was just easier to bring my books to lunch and come directly here, so I was one of the first in the room.

Mike walked in and went to his table and smiled at me and waved before he sat down. I returned the gesture and hoped he wouldn't come over to chat while waiting for class to start. He was a nice guy and all, and I enjoyed partnering up with him in Spanish, but if Jessica had a thing for him I wanted to give him a wide berth. Last thing I needed was to make enemies here.

I looked up at the door to the classroom, waiting for our teacher to make an appearance, just in time to see Edward walk through the door. Great, and I'd been hoping to go an hour without thinking about him.

As he came walking up the aisle I finally remembered that I'd noticed yesterday that this had been a full class. There was only one seat open in fact, and before I could stop myself I looked over at it and then back up at Edward. Oh god, I was going to have to share a lab table with him.

What the hell? What. The. Hell. So, not only was I not going to have an Edward free hour inside of my head but I'd probably spend the whole time trying not to lick him, or some other totally deranged thing. If I made it out of here with my dignity in tact I'd be really surprised. Was I seriously going to have to do this every day? What the hell.

He gave me a slight nod before sitting down next to me. As he then turned to face the front of the class, as if he'd put me from his mind already, I figured that was probably the only introduction I was going to get. Perfect. So not only was I obsessing over this stranger who I was stuck sitting in such close proximity to for the rest of the year, but he was most likely an ass too.

I wondered if it was too late to change my mind and move back home at this point.

Thankfully class had started, so I didn't have to pretend to not notice Edward acting as if I didn't exist. I mean, really, how hard was it to introduce yourself real fast? Just a quick 'hi my name is…'. nothing big or fancy. You only got once chance at an easy introduction, after today I would no longer be the new girl to him, and yet we weren't on a first name basis. There would be no easy way to work our names into the conversation now, the chance had already passed.

How was I expected to navigate this? What was supposed to happen when we were paired up as lab partners? Would we politely ignore each other until we needed help, or a lab beaker passed? This had all the potential of being a really awkward situation.

I gave him a dirty look out of the corner of my eye. I didn't care how attractive I thought he was, or how much my body seemed to want to lean into his, or the inexplicable pull I felt towards him, right now he was just the jerk who didn't think I was important enough to warrant an introduction.

I was getting myself all worked up in my annoyance, and in the back of my mind I realized that that was probably a coping mechanism I was using to help me deal with my attraction to this boy, but I squashed that thought. At that moment I just wanted to let myself be annoyed.

Stupid boy.

Stupid. Stupid. Stuck-up. Boy.

Oh yeah, I had reached a new level of maturity. I was so proud of myself.

I made myself stop thinking of the hotness that was sitting next to me, he didn't deserve my fascination anyway, and focused on class. I was glad to see we only had like fifteen minutes left.

Just as I started to focus on the lesson, I was called on. I hesitated, hating having to answer in front of everyone like that, but answered correctly. I was thankful I started paying attention when I did, otherwise I probably would have added mortification to my list of accomplishments for the day.

I had a feeling Biology was not going to be my favorite class this year. I wondered if there was some way I could get out of it. Probably not, I thought miserably.

I closed my eyes and let myself think about him one last time, telling myself I would forget about him completely after this. He was sitting there perfectly composed and probably completely unbothered, and here I was acting like an obsessed freak. How was that fair?

As I was sitting there with my eyes closed, trying to find an inner calm that I knew wasn't going to happen, the bell rang and I was finally freed.

I gathered up my stuff and turned to walk away when he finally choose to speak.

"Edward," he said.

I turned to make sure he really was talking to me, and sure enough he was looking right at me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Edward. My name's Edward Cullen," he answered quickly.

I looked him over, trying to decide what his intentions were here. Was he just screwing with me? Why did he brush me off at the beginning of class, just to throw out an introduction now, as I was ready to walk out? In the end I thought he looked sincere, so figured I'd play along.

"Bella Swan," I finally offered.

I could see him pause to take a breath before he said, "It's nice to meet you Bella Swan."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he got up and walked out of the room, without so much as a backward glance.

I sighed loudly, just to see if it would make me feel any better. It didn't. I was still totally confused.

Stupid boy.

***************************************

After school finally ended I headed to my locker to dump what I didn't need to take home with me and then pick up what I would need. I ended up chatting with Mike and Jessica in the hall for a minute, solidifying for me that there seemed to be something between them.

On my way out the door I realized I'd left behind one of the books I'd need and turned back to go get it. By the time I made it to the parking lot my truck was one of the last left, everyone else already hurrying away for the day.

As I was walking towards my truck I realized that while the parking lot was almost empty of cars, that didn't hold true for people. There, standing around in what I thought looked like a mixture of confusion and annoyance, was the Cullens.

I was immediately grateful that Edward didn't seem to be among them, and then realized that was probably where the confusion and annoyance had come into play. Edward, and the car he was driving that morning, both seemed to be missing. I slowed down in my walk to my truck trying to decide what I should do.

As they were arguing with each other I assumed they weren't just waiting around for their ride to show up, so I changed direction a little and headed their way. I might not know any of them, and I might be intimidated by all of their good looks, but I couldn't just leave them if they were stuck.

I walked up to them but they all seemed to be talking at once and didn't seem to register my presence. I cleared my throat, to no avail. Apparently I was going to have to do better than that.

Just as I was about to yell out to get their attention I noticed the blonde boy look in my direction, so I offered him a smile. He quickly put a stop to their bickering and turned back towards me.

I spoke before I lost my courage, "You guys stranded?"

The small dark haired girl stepped forward and smiled, before answering. "Looks like it. Our brother Edward drove us in today, and when we came out he was gone with the car, without an explanation. Our parents are both unavailable, and Edward seems to not be picking up the phone, his or the house line."

As she finished talking she smiled at me again, but I sensed underneath her smile she was looking at me with curiosity. As if I would somehow be able to explain their brothers absence.

Behind her the beautiful blonde girl opened her cell phone and tried placing a call, though it looked like it was going to be unsuccessful. It seemed as though they'd run out of options.

I pointed over my shoulder to my truck before offering, "Well, I know we don't know each other or anything, but I've got my truck. Two of you would have to sit in the bed, but I could squeeze two of you upfront with me if you want a lift."

The small dark haired girl starting bouncing up and down, while the beautiful blonde girl looked over at my truck in horror.

The big brown haired guy was the first to answer, asking, "Do you think that thing could get us home in one piece? It actually looks like it could be older then our school."

The blonde boy growled out a warning and then turned and said, "It won't be a bother for you? We don't want to cause you any problems."

"No, it's fine. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and I wouldn't forgive myself if I'd just left you guys here not knowing you have a way home. Someone will have to tell me where I'm going though since I still don't know my way around."

The blonde girl groaned, obviously not looking forward to driving in my truck. The little dark haired girl ignored her and walked over and grabbed my hand and started shaking it.

"I'm Alice Cullen. Thank you so much for this! We'll be eternally grateful I promise. We would have been stuck here until our mom was out of her meeting, which probably wouldn't have been for another two hours yet," she said.

"It's nice to meet you Alice. I'm Bella Swan," I said in return.

She turned back and pointed to the big brown haired guy. "That's my adopted brother Emmett, also a Cullen," then she turned and pointed first to the blonde boy, and then the blonde girl, "and this is my boyfriend Jasper Hale, and his sister Rosalie. They're kind of my adopted brother and sister too."

She looked over at me nervously as she explained their relationships, trying to gauge my reaction. I smiled at her in reassurance, letting her know I didn't find it weird. And I didn't. The seemed to be a family, not in the normal sense of the word, but that didn't mean it was weird. I could tell it worked for them, and that's what mattered.

Rosalie finally spoke, saying, "I am not sitting in the bed of the truck. Jasper and Emmett, you two can sit in the back. Pretend your dogs or something if it will make you feel better about the situation."

She rolled her eyes and starting walking to the truck, without actually saying anything to me. Well this should be fun.

Everyone else thanked me before we started heading over to the truck, and I assured them one more time that it wasn't a big deal.

Jasper and Emmett climbed in the back and I was intensely grateful that it wasn't raining today, otherwise I'd feel real bad about them being stuck back there. It was going to be a cold ride home for them as it was.

Alice climbed into the middle seat and Rosalie sat next to her. I put the key into the ignition and said a silent prayer that the truck would cooperate and start on the first time. Sure enough, when I turned the key I heard the engine roar to life. I looked over at Alice and smiled, proud of my truck for not making me look like an idiot, and she smiled back at me as we pulled out of the space.

She navigated me to the highway, telling me she'd let me know when we were at their exit. Rosalie for the most part stared at the window, completely ignoring the both of us. I wondered if she was always like this, or if she was just in a bad mood, or if it was me. I was hoping it wasn't the latter.

"So, what do you think of Forks High?" Alice asked.

"It's all right. It'll probably be better in a few days when my status as the new kid fades away and I'm not the center of everyone's attention so much," I answered.

Rosalie snorted at that, but didn't bother to comment. I had no idea what that was about.

Alice grinned at her before turning to me to offer an explanation. "Rose and Jaz were the last new additions to Forks High. They've been known as the New Kids ever since they started."

I looked over at her in confusion, I thought I remembered Jessica saying yesterday that they'd been going to Forks High for a little while now.

I asked Rosalie, "Wait, when did you guys move here?"

She answered without looking over at me, "Two years ago."

Two years ago and they were still being called the new kids? What would that mean for me? How long would it take for me to fade into the background? Wow, two years without any new students. I couldn't imagine it.

Alice broke through my thoughts. "Yeah, you'll probably be referred to as the new girl even as we're graduating a year and a half from now. Unless you're really lucky and someone new moves into town, but I wouldn't hold your breath or anything."

I groaned. It was the only proper response I cold come up with. Alice let out a giggle beside me, apparently delighting in my misery. I narrowed my eyes at her, deciding that under her pixie exterior there was a little bit of a mean streak. Then almost instantly forgave her for delighting in my misery when she gave me a huge smile. I knew then that I liked Alice. I didn't know much about her but I thought we'd get along okay.

Just then she directed me off of the highway, and we didn't have much of a chance to talk after that as she talked me through the rest of the drive.

We pulled into the driveway, but still had a little bit to go to get to their house, which was back some on their property. When we pulled through the trees into the clearing and I got my first look at their house I actually gasped. It was beautiful, it was built in the Victorian style and absolutely was the most gorgeous house I'd ever seen, but it was also one of the biggest. It was three stories, and you could probably fit several of Charlie's house into it. I couldn't believe they actually lived there.

Alice responded to my gasp, "It looks huge, but there are seven of us living there, so it often feels like it's not quite big enough to fit us all. Especially with three teenaged boys in the house."

I nodded but couldn't imagine ever feeling like I would need more space in a house that big. I pulled up behind the white car that I saw them get out of that morning, the one Edward had apparently absconded with.

I put the truck in park and looked over at Alice, who promptly reached over and turned the truck off, pulling my keys out of the ignition. I looked at her, the question on my face.

"Look, you've already admitted you don't have any place you need to be, and we owe you for rescuing us. The least you can do is come in and hang out a little bit and let us try to make it up to you. It'll be fun and we'll get to know each other a little," she said.

I looked at her, and then back up at the house debating what to do. I really didn't want to go in there if their brother was home, especially after this afternoon. I looked over at Alice trying to determine whether she was going to let me out of this or not.

Obviously not, as she turned and followed Rosalie out of the truck, with my keys still in hand. I sighed heavily and looked apprehensively up at the house. Maybe I'd get lucky and wouldn't see him, I hoped, all the while knowing that with the way my day was going it was highly unlikely.

I resigned myself to having to go inside for a little while and got out of the truck. Before I knew what was happening I was being lifted up in a giant bear hug, totally embarrassed to hear myself squeak in surprise even as I registered that it was Emmett who had me lifted in a giant hug.

"Thanks Bells! That was totally great. I had no idea riding in the back of a truck would be so entertaining. You coming in? Excellent. Let's go." He didn't bother waiting for me to respond to any of it as he released me, threw his arm around my shoulder, and steered me towards the house.

Totally nonplussed, I managed to look over my shoulder towards Alice and mouth 'Bells?' to her, but she just smiled and shrugged as she followed us in, Jasper at her side.

As we entered the house I wondered briefly what I was in for. What would happen when Edward found me here unexpectedly? Our first encounter did not go smoothly, and now all of a sudden I was here at his house. I was sure, if nothing else, he would be surprised.

I was hoping to get through this is quickly as possible, with as much dignity as possible. I knew it would probably be awkward and uncomfortable, but as long as he wasn't rude to me I thought it would be ok. I would spend a few minutes here, long enough to appease Alice, and hopefully be on my way.

As we walked through the door I heard a piano playing and all thoughts left my head. The song being played was beautiful, and I'd definitely never heard it before. There was a sadness to it that made me ache for the composer. Whoever wrote that song felt great despair, I would have bet good money on it, and I was sure that whoever playing it now was tuned in to that despair on a personal level.

I almost didn't want to see the person responsible for playing the song we were hearing. It felt like we would be walking in on an intensely personal moment, and I felt like we should wait till the song was over. Emmett however seemed to have a different view on this as he steered me unhesitatingly towards the music.

We entered the room where the piano was being played and I was so stunned to see that it was Edward responsible for the song we were hearing that I stopped dead in my tracks. I must of surprised Emmett because his arm dropped from around me, and he just smiled and walked over to Rosalie, who was leaning on the piano watching Edward play.

I barely registered Alice and Jasper coming up behind me as I stared at Edward. I couldn't move as I watched his fingers travel over the ivory keys, his eyes still closed as he confidently let his fingers do all the work.

I knew beyond a doubt that this song was a reflection of how he was feeling, there was too much in it to not be. There were no words, no lyrics, but you could feel all the emotions wrapped up in it. Sadness, longing, pain, loneliness.

In that moment I wanted to go over to him and comfort him, to try to take away whatever it was that was behind this song. I made myself stand perfectly still, because I knew if I moved even one muscle that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from going over and wrapping myself around him in a clumsy attempt to comfort him.

Only the embarrassment I knew I would feel when he would inevitably reject my attempt to comfort him kept me from losing the battle I fought. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass myself like that, especially in front of his family. So I somehow managed to hold my position while he finished playing the song. And as his finger hit the last note I felt relief at no longer having to hear him playing out his feelings for us all to hear, not even realizing that it wasn't just his family he was laying himself out there for, but me as well.

I looked around quickly at his family, to see their reactions to their brothers pain laid bare, and was surprised to see none of them looking upset at all. In fact, for the most part that were smiling at him. I was confused. Why would they smile at their brothers pain?

And then I saw Edward lift his head, and I looked over at him just in time to see his eyes open and watch as he took in his siblings standing around him. He smiled briefly at them, and then he noticed me standing a little behind them.

He stared at me, clearly shocked to see me standing there. I watched as he registered the fact that I'd been standing there listening to him play. I saw his emotions play across his face and then watched as his eyes darkened, and knew without any other change in his expression that anger had won out.

He slammed his fist against the keys and stood up and walked out the front door, without a word to any of us. There was a second or two of complete silences as we all stood there shocked, and then his family turned as one to stare at me.

I searched for something, for the words, that would make sense of what had just happened, but turned up empty. I didn't know what had just happened, so how was I supposed to explain it to them?

I closed my eyes and desperately wished that I was anywhere but here, and then did the only thing I could think of. I turned and followed Edward out the door.

*********************************************

**A/N:**

_*groans* Yowzer that was exhausting. I am seriously wipped out. I'm glad it's done but I have a feeling that the next Edward chapter will be just as draining._

_Anyway, thanks so much for reading, if you made it all the way through!_

_As always, I love any reviews you're willing to throw my way. Let me know what you think, even if it's bad!_

_Thanks and have a lovely._

_Day that is. ;)_

_Alice says make sure you wear your prettiest clothes for next time, as you've got a date with her. She'll see you soon!_

_A/N p2:_

_So, yesterday I cleaned up the chapters of Bella Begins, deleting the one where I said I was taking a break from writing it, and moving the other chapters all back one. Which means this is the second chapter posted under the title Chapter 7. What does this mean for you? Well, it means if you reviewed yesterday's chapter you're not going to be able to review todays, it will tell you you already reviewed it. Very annoying._

_Anyway, I need to thank princessatessa08 who was nice enough to send me her review in a PM since it wouldn't let her review here, thus letting me know what had happened. Anyone who wants to review this chapter who reviewed yesterday, feel free to PM me with it, or post it under an old chapter, or skip it this go around. I love hearing from you all, but will understand if you don't want to deal with the hassle. ;) Ok, thanks all._


	8. Chapter 8

**Twilight Belongs to Stephenie Meyer. If you don't know that by now you must have been living under a rock.**

**A/N:**

_Ok, first I have to make sure this is cleared up, so everyone is at the right spot in the story. Yesterday I deleted Chapter 4, where I basically just said the story was going on hiatus for a while, and then moved the rest of the chapters back. So, yesterday was the second time I posted under Chapter 7, which caused some confusion when it came to reviews. However, I wanted to make sure everyone knows that there was an actual chapter posted yesterday, and it wasn't just me deleting a chapter and the posting it again. So, if you didn't read the actual chapter 7 I posted yesterday, go do so now, otherwise this won't be as fun._

_Good, glad to have that out of the way. Yes folks, it's Alice's turn! Yay! I have to admit that secretly I like writing Alice's chapters the best, but shhhh, don't tell E or B that. I almost cut her sections out during this part figuring you all would probably just want to bounce back and forth between E and B for this bit, but in the end I just couldn't do it to her. So here we are again, and she's so thankful to join us all._

_Ok, enough silliness. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this, and an especially big thank you to everyone who takes the time to review. I heart you guys!_

_Once again, just wanted to remind you all that I haven't asked anyone to beta for this, so be forgiving if I make mistakes here and there. Anyway, on to the loveliness that is Alice. I used Plain White T's to get in the mood for writing her this time, for anyone interested (why would you be though?)._

_Thanks again bebe's!_

**************************************************

**Alice**

I met up with Jasper after school and we headed out to the parking lot to meet the others by the car. The only problem was when we got to where the car should have been there was just an empty space.

We looked around the parking lot in confusion. Was the car stolen? Had the others all left without us? We were only standing there a minute or two when we were joined by Rose and Em. Clearly then, they at least hadn't left us.

Rose was the first to voice our thoughts. "Where's the car?"

Jasper was the one to answer, saying, "We don't know. It was gone when we came out here. We didn't even know if you two were still here or were with the car somewhere."

"Did Edward leave? Is he with the car or was it stolen or something?" Em asked looking at me.

"I don't know. Last I saw him was at lunch and he didn't say anything about leaving early or anything. And Carlisle's at work, and Esme has a meeting that will probably last a while yet, so if he left I don't know how he expected us to get home," I said.

Rose pulled out her cell phone and started dialing. I closed my eyes and tried to pick up on Edward, but was getting nothing. No helpful visions to clear up this mystery.

What was the point of having visions if they didn't help you out in a jam? What's a girl to do when she has a superpower, that's not very super? I was jealous of Edward's little talent. His worked all the time.

He better have a good excuse for not being here. If he wasn't dead, or seriously hurt, or professing his love to Isabella Swan somewhere he was going to be inbig trouble.

I entertained myself for a moment picturing all the ways I would get back at him for leaving us like this high and dry, while I watched Rose try another number. I guessed that he wasn't picking up his cell.

I could rearrange his music collection. He's OCD about his CD's and has them all arranged just so. hmmm, that would be too subtle though, and definitely not evil enough. Oh, I could replace his wardrobe with one I had picked out instead, and that would have the added bonus of being seriously fun for me. But, no, he probably would just go to school in whatever outfit he happened to be wearing when I got rid of his clothes, just to be stubborn.

Ohhhhhhh, I could write Isabella a note and say it was from him! That would be perfect. Nothing big or anything, not like professing his undying love, though that would be fun. No, maybe like an invite to our house or something? Just something to get the two of them together. I wonder how I could make it seem realistic.

I was completely absorbed in my payback fantasies when Rose slammed the phone shut in obvious frustration. So Edward wasn't going to pick up the phone. Which meant we'd have to find our own way home.

I looked around at the mostly empty parking lot and groaned. This was going to be fun.

There was about three seconds of silence before we all started talking at once, giving our ideas on how we could get home. My vote was for hitchhiking, but Jaz shot that down right away saying it was too dangerous, and illegal. Emmett said jog home, and thankfully Rose shot that down before he got too attached to the idea. Jaz thought we should call a taxi, but that would be a pain.

We were still in the middle of it when Jaz called out to get our attention. I turned to look at him just to see him looking at a point behind me. When I turned around there was Isabella Swan standing behind me, looking nervous and unsure, but at the same time determined too.

I almost started jumping up and down. I saw a red truck behind her that must belong to her. Yes! I couldn't have planned a better way to introduce ourselves to her if I tried. This was perfect.

As I was just beginning to imagine Isabella and I walking around arm and arm, as new best friends, she broke through my daydreams by speaking. What was with everyone interrupting me when I was getting to all the good parts?

"You guys stranded?" she asked.

I stepped forward to answer, no way I was letting one of the others steal this moment from me.

"Looks like it. Our brother Edward drove us in today, and when we came out he was gone with the car, without an explanation. Our parents are both unavailable, and Edward seems to not be picking up the phone, his or the house line," I answered, then smiled at her reassuringly.

She pointed to the red truck behind her saying, "Well, I know we don't know each other or anything, but I've got my truck. Two of you would have to sit in the bed, but I could squeeze two of you upfront with me if you want a lift."

Ohhhh, this was just too perfect. I couldn't stop myself, I started bouncing up and down. We were going to ride home with Isabella! Yay! Once at our house she would come inside with us, I would make her come inside with us if I had to, and we would become the best friends we were destined to be.

Then of course Edward would see her and wouldn't be able to stop himself from falling madly in love with her and we would all live oh so happily ever after. Perfect.

The others were talking, but I wasn't even pretending to pay attention to them. I was too excited. I loved Edward! I'm so happy he abandoned us.

He sealed his own fate with this one. I totally didn't want to hear him complain now if he couldn't stop himself from obsessing over her, it was his own fault she was entering our lives. Hehehe, poor Edward.

I started paying attention just in time to hear her say she didn't have to be anywhere, and I smiled in anticipation as I stepped up and grabbed her hand to introduce myself.

"I'm Alice Cullen. Thank you so much for this! We'll be eternally grateful I promise. We would have been stuck here until our mom was out of her meeting, which probably wouldn't have been for another two hours yet," I said.

"It's nice to meet you Alice. I'm Bella Swan," she answered.

So she went by Bella. I've been calling her Isabella all day long in my head, but when I looked at her I realized that Bella fit her perfectly. Bella it was then.

I performed the rest of the introductions, and for the first time ever I was a little nervous. It was weird explaining our relationships to someone who hadn't seen it all play out. I knew she'd had to have heard all the gossip about us by now, but still it was weird having to say it out loud to her. I momentarily wondered if she'd go running towards her truck, deciding it best to stay far away from us.

In the end she just smiled at me, accepting the simple explanation I gave of our relationships. Oh Bella, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Poor girl, she had no idea that she just had sealed her fate. She was going to be my best friend, if it was the last thing I accomplished before I left this fair earth.

It was going to be so much fun having someone new to shop for too. I couldn't wait, I had so many ideas for her. I would definitely get her out of jeans. They looked good on her, but we could do so much better than that.

I heard Rose order the boys into the back of the truck and I ran over to climb inside the cab, sitting in the middle, between Bella and Rose.

I could tell that Rose was determined to be miserable and ignore us, which I was fine with. That meant I could have Bella to myself. I felt bad for Edward though, I could feel Rose's irritation with him for leaving us, or more importantly, her, stranded at school. She was not going to let this one go.

We started talking about what Bella thought of Forks High, and about holding the new kid status. The entire time we talked I planned.

How was I going to get her in the house? I knew I didn't need her to come in today to eventually become friends with her, but it would be so much easier to become friends fast if she came inside. Plus, I wanted her to. So, I would figure out a way to get her to agree.

Oh. Of course. I could just steal her truck keys. She already said she had nowhere to be, so if I just yanked the keys out she would have no choice but to come inside for a bit. Simple but totally effective. I loved it. Any plan that ended up getting me the results I wanted was a plan I could stand behind.

I noticed we were near our exit and had to focus, directing Bella to our house. We pulled into our driveway and finally made our way up to the house when I heard Bella let out a little gasp. I knew she was reacting to the size of the house, most people did.

I felt the need to explain, as I always did that the house looked big, but felt small with so many of us living in it. I could see the doubt on her face, but I knew if my plans came to fruition and she started spending as much time around here as I hoped she would that she would get to see for herself.

When she put the truck in park I reached over and turned the key and yanked it out of the ignition.

She looked at me in confusion, so I explained, "Look, you've already admitted you don't have any place you need to be, and we owe you for rescuing us. The least you can do is come in and hang out a little bit and let us try to make it up to you. It'll be fun and we'll get to know each other a little," I said.

I could see her hesitate, and try to decide if she'd be able to wiggle her way out of having to come inside, so I climbed out of the truck, determined to not give her a chance to object.

She must have resigned herself to accepting her fate, because she climbed out of the truck. I smiled as I watched Em go up and grab her up in a great big bear hug. Like me he must have already decided that he wanted her to be a part of our lives, because I've never seen him bear hug anyone outside of the family.

I smiled at his enthusiasm, listening as he said, "Thanks Bells! That was totally great. I had no idea riding in the back of a truck would be so entertaining. You coming in? Excellent. Let's go."

I was momentarily distracted by thoughts of Emmett. I was intensely happy to see him instantly take a liking to Bella, as I knew that his wants often took a backseat to those of Edward and I. We didn't do it on purpose, it was just that he was so easy going it was easy to sometimes forget that he had wants too.

It surprised me how happy he was to have Bella with us, and how quickly he accepted her into our fold. She didn't know it yet but he'd already determined that she was one of the family, and as such would do anything for her. I was so proud of my big brother in that instant, and I determined to spend some one on one time with Emmett in the near future as I realized how much I missed just hanging out with him.

Bella looked over at me and mouthed 'Bells?' and I just shrugged at her as Jasper came over and put his arm around me and we headed inside, Bella tucked safely under Em's arm.

As soon as we walked through the door we could hear Edward at the piano. We all instinctively turned toward the music room to watch him play a bit.

As I listened to the song I realized it was one I hadn't heard before. It was more intense than anything I'd ever heard him play before. I wondered what exactly had happened today to make him just leave school without so much as a word, and then leave us to our own devices to get back home. Whatever it was I was sure it was connected to the song he was playing now.

I leaned into Jasper as we listened to the song. I closed my eyes and for a few minutes put everything out of my mind but the man standing next to me.

Poor Jaz. He was getting neglected a lot today in all of my excitement over Bella. I was confident that he knew me enough to understand my current obsession over Bella, but still, I felt bad for neglecting him so.

I was so thankful to have a boyfriend who loved me so unconditionally, and who understood me so well. Jasper and I were two parts of the same whole. We completed each other in ways that even we didn't full understand yet.

As the song ended I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze, before opening my eyes to watch Edward finish up playing.

He took a moment to collect himself after he stopped playing, as he sometimes had to do when he was playing a particularly emotional piece. Then he opened his eyes and looked over at us all, offering a little apologetic smile to us.

He looked over at each of us and then finally his eyes rested on Bella, who was standing a little behind the rest of us.

At first he stared at her for a second in shock and confusion. I could understand his confusion so wasn't surprised at this, it was what happened next that threw me. Instead of recovering and then introducing himself he seemed to lose control over himself. I watched as so many different emotions crossed his normally closed off face, unsure what was behind them.

Then I saw the last thing I would have ever expected to see. I saw his eyes darken up in anger, something I've only seen him allow to happen maybe a handful of times in our entire lives. I was so surprised that I took a half a step back, and then realized immediately that his anger was directed at Bella and went to move myself in front of her, hoping to protect her from his anger.

Before I could step away from Jaz though Edward slammed his fist against the piano keys, he actually hit his precious piano in anger, and then stand he stood up and walked out the front door without giving us any kind of explanation for his reaction.

We all stood there in shock, unsure of what the hell had just happened. One minute he was fine, and then the next it was if he was a psychotic stranger. Slowly, as one, we all turned around to look at Bella, who seemed to be the cause of this reaction.

She stared back at us, shock and confusion clearly evident on her face. It seemed as if she was just as clueless as to what had caused Edward's reaction as the rest of us were. I could see her searching for some words to offer up to make sense of it all, and as she closed her eyes in frustration I knew she had come up blank. Then, like Edward, without a word she turned and walked out the front door.

The rest of us stood there staring at the door after her, clearly realizing we had no idea what had just happened. Emmett was the first to react.

"What the fuck was that about?" he asked, looking over at me like I had all the answers.

"I have no idea Em. I've never in my life seen him react like that. It's not like it was the first time he'd seen her or anything, I saw him notice her at lunch. I don't know if they had any classes together after that, but if they did she didn't mention anything happening between the two of them, and I'm pretty sure she would have mentioned it to get out of coming in the house," I said.

Whatever had triggered his reaction I was sure that Bella was as clueless about it as the rest of us were.

"Great, she's probably long gone by now and thinking we've all lost our minds, and who knows what she thinks about Edward. Probably assumes he's some homicidal maniac or something. I'm sure this won't be uncomfortable tomorrow," Jasper mused.

I was already shaking my head no though.

"Uh-uh," I said, "I've got her truck keys. She might think we're all crazy, but I definitely know she's not long gone yet. The question is, did she go off to find Edward, or did she try to hop into her truck to leave, only to realize too late that she'd left behind her keys? One of us should go check. I'd feel bad if she was standing there by her truck trying desperately to figure out what the hell to do now."

Before anyone else could volunteer I walked out the front door and down the steps. It made the most sense after all, I was the one holding her keys, or at least that's how I justified being the one to run after her.

I silently cursed my brother for making my life difficult, and making my new best friend probably think that we were all a bunch of deranged lunatics. Damn Edward and his crazy little scene back there.

I was going to kill him. Screw getting revenge, I was going to kill my twin. He deserved nothing less after today's stunt. He probably scared Bella out of her mind. How many weeks, even months, had he robbed me of her friendship with that little stunt? She probably would avoid me like the plague now, and I couldn't even blame her. I would avoid me after something like that.

I narrowed my eyes as I walked towards the driveway and Bella's truck, determined to do damage control. I might not be able to totally fix the situation, but dammit, I was going to give it my best shot.

I was so wrapped up in my inner musings that it took me a second to register that although I clearly saw Bella's truck sitting in front of me, Bella was nowhere in sight. I looked all around me, turning in a circle, stupidly thinking maybe I just missed her. I actually walked up to the truck, peeking in the cab to make sure she wasn't curled up in a ball on the floor in tears or something. I wouldn't blame her one bit if she was.

The cab was empty however. Just to cover all of my bases I looked in the bed of the truck, just in case, but that turned out to be just as empty.

Huh. That's interesting.

She went after Edward then.

My mood did a one-eighty in that second, as I realized that she had actually followed after him. Whatever had just happened, it hadn't freaked her out enough to chase her away. I looked around wondering where they had run off to, and figured knowing Edward he probably headed towards his rock.

I debated briefly whether to follow them or not. Normally I wouldn't even think about it, but I remembered that moment back in the music room where I felt the need to step in front of Bella, to protect her from Edward, and I worried about her being off alone with him.

In the end though I realized that I was being unfair to my twin, not giving him enough credit. I knew him better than that and trusted him completely. Whatever had happened inside, whatever I was worried about happening, Edward would never hurt a soul, and especially not a girl. No matter what had caused his reaction, Bella was safe in his company.

I turned and headed back inside to update the others on the situation. As I walked up the path to the front door I finally started to wonder what Bella's involvement in all of this was.

I had initially thought that she was just an innocent bystander who somehow triggered Edward's anger. The more I thought about it though the more I felt like I was missing some of the puzzle pieces.

I started thinking about all the events from today, all the times Edward had acted unusual. There was the cafeteria, when he first saw Bella. His reaction to her then was more intense then I've ever seen him have towards someone. Then he'd disappeared from school shortly after that, taking the car and abandoning us. Then when we showed up at home with Bella in tow he seemed to lose his mind, and stormed off angrier then I've ever seen him in his life.

I felt pretty sure of myself when I concluded that Bella must have, for some unknown reason, been the trigger to it all. That was the only thing that would explain Edward's disappearance and then insane reaction to her later.

As I climbed the steps to the front door it finally occurred to me to wonder, what the hell happened between them today?

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**A/N:**

_Poor Alice, she seems to be a step behind here, and as someone who deals in futures she HATES being a step behind on anything. Ah well, it's fun to watch anyway._

_I hope you liked it, and I hope you have as much fun reading Alice as I do writing her. When I decided to start writing Twilight FF I knew I wanted to include Alice as a narrator, just because I thought it would be fun._

_Anyway, thank you to everyone who takes time out of their lives to follow my story, I appreciate it. And again, a big thank you to everyone who takes the time to review! You guys make my day. :)_

_Hope you all have a wonderful day. Edward says to tell you that he'll see you next time, and that maybe he'll even explain his craziness then. ;)_

_Ciao!_


	9. Chapter 9

_**You guessed it, Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**A/N:**_

_This will be a quick one, I'm too drained to make it long._

_I need to send out a big thanks to Amanda, who provided me with some Edward music, it helped a lot for this chapter. ;)_

_And I need to thank the 'community' for letting me borrow Dark Edward. I promise, I'll have him nice and cleaned up when I return him. He'll be so clean he'll be all sparkly._

_As usual, thanks you to everyone who takes the time to follow this story, and an especially big thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers. Your reviews seriously brighten my day. You know the drill by now, this isn't being beta'd so forgive any mistakes. I try my hardest, and that should count for something._

_And lastly._

_I apologize for this, but it had to be done. lol_

_*******************************************_

**Edward**

I had to be losing my mind. That was the only thing that could explain my recent behavior. It just wasn't rational to get up and walk out of the school after one simple introduction, but I had felt like I needed to get out of there fast.

Once I made it home I was able to breath again. Esme and Carlisle were both gone, which meant that I had the house to myself for a while so hopefully I could get myself together.

I was completely shocked at how easily Bella Swan had gotten to me. I'd only seen her for the first time earlier in the day, I'd only had one conversation with her and that had only been our introductions, yet it was enough to send me fleeing in a blind panic. I didn't know what I was going to do.

I paced around the house in frustration, trying to get rid of some of my nervous energy while thinking things through.

I needed to get control over my life again, that much was obvious. I was not going to spiral out of control and give decisions up to some unknown force because of some weird pull I felt to this girl. I was still Edward Cullen. I was still the guiding force behind my life, and dammit, I did not want to be attracted to this girl.

I finally decided to relieve some of my tension at the piano, and went over and starting playing. I closed my eyes and just let my body decide what to play. Song after song, I just kept playing, hoping it would help me relax.

I could hear my cell phone and then the house line ringing, and knew it was probably my family, but I couldn't stop playing. I knew I should go pick them up from school, that I had left them stranded, but I had to keep playing.

Whatever it was that was wrong with me, whatever it was that was inside me causing this, I wanted to purge it and the only way I could think of to do that was at the piano. So I played. I played and I hoped that I was managing to successfully purge, because I missed the old Edward, the one who was always in control.

I had just started playing a song I wrote recently when I heard a car pull up, and knew my family must have succeeded in finding a ride home. I felt relief that they hadn't just ended up stuck. I felt like a shitty brother for abandoning them, but I felt like I was fighting to save myself here, and I needed this time right now to do it, otherwise it might be too late.

I heard them walk in and knew that they were piling in around me, listening to me play. This would be the first time they heard this particular song, which is probably what kept them from breaking in to yell at me.

I kept my eyes closed, concentrating on the music, while at the same time trying to focus on restoring my inner calm. I needed to be back to my normal self by the time this song was done, otherwise Alice at least would be able to read me like an open book, and I'd be screwed.

I finished up the last measure and when I was done I bowed my head for a second, mentally preparing myself, and then opened my eyes and smiled up at my family, hoping to gloss over abandoning them as much as possible.

I looked at them all, standing around me, trying to read the expressions on their faces, seeing who I'd need to work on and who would forgive me easily.

I scanned their faces, and then saw her standing there a little behind them. I don't know how long she'd been back there, but I could tell from her expression that she'd heard most of my song.

I froze. I was overwhelmed with shock and confusion. How, of all people, did Bella Swan end up standing in the middle of my music room? I'd come here to get away from her, and now here she was.

I felt my control disappearing. I couldn't believe how easily my afternoon's work was slipping away, but I blamed it on surprise. This was my house, my music room, the last place I expected to have to face her, especially today of all days.

I started to feel anger. Anger at whatever forces were refusing to let me escape this girl, anger at myself for reacting like this to her, anger at Bella for not understanding that I needed her to stay away from me.

Then I really looked at her face, and I knew that she'd really listened to my song, and that she picked up on all of the emotional undercurrents to it. I could see sadness and pity on her face, and before I could stop it something within me just snapped. Why was this girl the one to get it? Why, when the people closest to me in the whole world were all standing around me listening to the same exact song, was she the one to understand what it meant?

I wrote that song as a way to deal with everything I'd been feeling, without having to weigh down my family with my emotions. Everything that I had been feeling lately, everything that I had been drowning under, it all went into that song. And here this girl was, a stranger to me, and I just knew she'd seen through it all. I felt exposed.

It was more then I could take. I'd been fighting something I didn't understand all day and I'd reached my limit.

Fuck this.

Fuck this fucking universe for throwing this girl at me just as I'd made up my mind that there was nothing here for me.

Fuck fate or destiny or whatever for continuously screwing with my self control all day.

Fuck karma for assaulting me, trying to prove that I wasn't in control.

Fuck that.

I was Edward Fucking Cullen.

This girl was not going to bring me to my fucking knees.

With that I slammed my fist onto the piano keys, and stood up and walked out the door. I needed to be away from the lot of them. Fucking family, bringing home with them the very person I had run away from.

Without thinking of it I started walking back to my rock down by the stream. I'd be easily found here, but if everyone knew what was best for them right now they'd give me a wide berth.

What the fuck was wrong with me? I wondered briefly if I needed to be committed or something, but thought that if I could just get away from Bella Swan long enough to really clear my head that I would do all right.

I practically threw myself down on the rock. I couldn't understand why I was reacting like this. I felt like I wasn't me anymore, like some stranger had taking over my body today. I wasn't me anymore, I was Dark Edward, an angrier, twisted version of myself.

I felt some of the anger melting away as I sat there listening to the noise from the stream, and just in time too, as I heard someone approaching from behind me.

I closed my eyes and hoped that if I ignored whoever it was they would take the hint and go away. I tried to determine who it was by using my little talent, but strangely I couldn't pick up on anything. My current mood must be screwing with my abilities.

After a few minutes I realized that whoever it was wasn't going to just go away, so I heaved a big sigh and turned to face them.

Of course it would be her. Why wouldn't it be?

She certainly didn't have a lot of sense. After that little display in the music room she should have run as fast as she could and as far as she could, but yet here she was standing calmly behind me, looking up at the sky.

I decided that this time I was going to have control over this situation if it killed me. I was going to use Dark Edward to my advantage, and I was going to drive her away. If I couldn't seem to resist whatever it was that was pushing me towards her then I would just have to make sure that she resisted me. I was going on the offensive.

"What do you want?" I practically sneered at her.

I hated myself for what I was about to do, but it was self-preservation. This would probably be my only shot at this, so I had to make it good.

I watched as she took a step away from me. I could see that the venom in my voice had caught her off guard. I watched as she took me in, trying to decide on her best course of action. I took advantage of her hesitation.

"Do you mind? I came back here to get away from everyone, not to be followed around like a puppy does his master. Just because we're in class together doesn't mean we're friends. If you're here with my family, you need to stay with them, not me," I'd said.

She flinched. I watched as her eyes darkened with anger and knew I was succeeding.

"I don't understand," she said. "What did I do to make you so pissed off at me? We don't even know each other yet, there's no way I could have offended you so much so quickly."

"What makes you think this has anything to do with you? The world doesn't revolve around you for fucks sake. I just want to be left alone, and right now you can't seem to grasp that. It's not a hard concept really, though I know it might seem complicated. Try to keep up though, I'm sure if you tried really hard you could do it." Even I was disgusted by myself at this point.

I briefly thought about the fact that Alice would never forgive me for this, but squashed the thought. I was going to make sure that I did this right the first time, there would be no going back from here.

"You know what asshole?" She was practically yelling at this point. "Fuck you. I don't need this. Whatever your problem is, it's not up to me to deal with it. I hope you enjoy your solitude, because you're going to have a very lonely life if this is how you treat people."

With that she turned and walked away. I had to fight the urge to reach out for her, to stop her from walking out of my life, but then I reminded myself that this was what I had wanted. She would be the one avoiding me from now on. I didn't have to worry about slipping up now, I knew that even if the pull got to be too much for me that she would be avoiding me at all costs from now on. I wouldn't have a chance to lose my control again, she would make sure of that even if I couldn't.

*****************************************

I don't know how long I sat out there by myself. I was too disgusted with myself, and what I had just done, to get up and go inside. The light started fading around me when I heard another set of footsteps approaching. I closed my eyes and listened and knew that it was Alice behind me.

She came up and sat down next to me, our arms just barely touching. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to avoid this conversation. She would be upset, and I owed her some kind of explanation, though I didn't know how much I could give her.

"Oh Edward. What have you done?" she sadly asked me.

"I did what I had to Alice," I answered.

She sighed, "But I don't understand. Why? She fits here, she's supposed to be here with us. It's not just my vision telling me this, I could feel it when she was here with us. She's just meant to be here."

"I'm the only one who can decide my life Alice. Whatever your vision was telling you, whatever you felt when she was here, I'm the one who chooses where my life will lead me. I don't want it to lead me to Isabella Swan," I tried to explain so she would understand.

She was quiet for a while before she continued on. "What's so wrong with her Edward? You need to help me understand. I was there today, I saw your reaction to her in the cafeteria. You're attracted to her, that much is obvious. And she's nice, she's sweet, she's smart, and I think she would be good for you. What is so wrong with that?"

"I just…Alice, there's nothing here for me in Forks. This isn't where I'm meant to be. I love you and Emmett, and Carlisle and Esme, and even Jasper and Rose, more than anything, but it's just not enough. This place, it's empty for me. I survive it because of you guys, but I don't want to just survive anymore, I want to feel alive for once."

It was as close as I'd ever come to explaining everything I'd been feeling, and I sat there while Alice took it all in. I knew she was breaking it down, and comparing what I said to how I'd been acting lately.

"This is what's been wrong with you lately isn't it? This is why you've felt distant from me. You're planning to leave us aren't you?" she asked.

"Not until next year, when we've graduated. But yeah, I'm leaving. I'm thinking about taking some time off to travel, or maybe going to school on the East Coast. I just need to be away from here for a while," I said.

I knew this was going to be hard for her to hear, but I knew it needed to be said, and now was probably the best chance I'd ever have.

"I don't understand though, what does all this have to do with Bella? You don't plan on leaving until next year, there's a lot of time between then and now. Couldn't you try just being friends with her? It's not like you can't allow yourself any fun between now and then, or any new friends," she said.

"No," I shook my head for emphasis. "I can't be friends with her. I don't know what it is, I don't even know her, but I know from my reaction to her today that I won't be able to maintain a friendship with her. I feel too strong of a pull to her for me to keep our relationship on a friendship level. It's all or nothing."

"Well, why can't it be all then? Why are you assuming that she'll somehow try to keep you here. What even makes you think that if you guys start dating that you'll still be together next year?" she asked.

"I don't want anymore ties here. It will be hard enough leaving you guys behind, and I don't want to make anyone choose between me and their life here. It's just easier if I stay away from her, and better for all of us if I do. I know you want to be her friend, and I won't stop you, but I don't want to be part of her life. I'm sorry Alice, but I'm not changing my mind," I explained.

She sat there quietly for a long time thinking over everything I'd said. I was sure that despite it all she was still making plans. I knew though that I had effectively blocked her today. Whatever plans she had for me I knew Isabella would have no part of now. She sighed loudly and I knew she realized it was useless at this point. Unless something changed there was nothing she could do. She rested her head on my shoulder and I felt her sadness for me, and for what I'd done.

"I don't think you can avoid this Edward. I don't think you've changed your path at all, I just think you're taking the long way around now. I know what I felt today, and I know you felt more then you're letting on. There's something between you and this girl, and I don't think you're going to be able to fight it," she said.

"You might be right Alice, but I can sure as hell try. This is my life, I should be the one making the decisions here."

I knew we were done with our little talk. Alice knew me enough to know that she wasn't going to change me, and I knew Alice enough to know that I wouldn't be able to stop her from plotting. We were at an impasse, and only time would tell which one of us would end up the winner.

*******************************************

**A/N:**

_hmmmmmmmm. So do you all hate me now? lol. I promise Dark Edward has a purpose, it's not that I just like messing with you all. I'll put Dark Edward away as soon as I can, just not yet. ;)_

_Thanks again for taking the time to read. As always, I would love to hear from you. The good, the bad, the ugly. Bring it on._

_Next time around we'll be visiting with Bella._

_Oh, and expect an Emmett chapter in the future. That'll be fun, for me anyway._


	10. Chapter 10

_**Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer and all that.**_

_**A/N:**_

_So, you all should know the drill by now. Be forgiving of any stupid mistakes, no Beta on this blah blah blah, side project, blah blah blah._

_From this point on things should start picking up. I'm not going to do as much repeating perspectives as I have been. I was only doing that for the beginning, while we established where everyone was coming from in their interactions with each other. There will still be a little overlapping here and there, when I think it's important to see what that character was thinking through that part (like here for instance, where I think it's important to see Bella's reaction to Edward being an ass), but on the whole not a lot. I had never planned on continuing it on like that throughout the whole story._

_Thanks again to everyone who is taking the time to read this, and a big thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to review. It really makes my day. :o)_

_I think that's it. I can't think of anything much I need to say, so without further ado....._

_********************************************_

**Bella**

I ran out of the house before I really thought about what I was doing, which is how I ended up staring at my truck realizing I didn't have my keys. Alice had them still. Great.

So, now I had a couple of choices. I could go back inside to get my keys, and have to face everyone after I embarrassingly ran out. I could sit here by my truck in hopes that Alice would eventually come out to rescue me. Or I could go after Edward and try to see what the hell was going on.

I only debated for a moment really. The first option was too embarrassing, the second too cowardly, and the last would hopefully get me some answers. So I would suck it up and try to go after Edward, and hope for a good outcome.

I walked in the direction I assumed he went, hoping that I would stumble upon him. Their yard was a big open patch surrounded by trees, which met up with a stream a little ways off. It was towards the stream that I walked now as this was where I would head if I needed a moment to myself.

When I got to the stream I looked in both directions trying to see if I could see Edward from where I was standing, otherwise I would have to pick a direction and hope I got lucky. I saw him though. He was sitting on a huge rock that sat right next to the stream, overlooking the water.

As I approached him I tried to decide what to do. It's not like I really knew him at all, we'd only exchanged a handful of words after all. It felt weird to intrude like this, but I didn't know what else to do, and I wanted to try to figure out what was going on. Obviously, something about me upset him, I just wanted to know what that was.

He hadn't looked over at me, and I was loathe to intrude on his quiet, so I stood behind him a little ways waiting for him to acknowledge me, and stared up at the sky for a bit.

It was a nice day still, with a few clouds in the sky. It seemed weird after what just happened to come out to such a beautiful day. It felt like it should be really overcast or something, reflecting the direction of the days events. I sighed quietly to myself and wondered how I'd so quickly managed to get myself wrapped up in this kind of drama.

Finally Edward turned around and looked over at me.

Before I had a chance to say anything he sneered, yes actually sneered, at me, "What do you want?"

There was so much malice in those simple words that I found myself taking a step away from him without thinking it. It was self preservation, instincts told me I needed to put a little distance between me and anyone who could talk to me with such anger.

I didn't know how to answer. There must be something I could say that would make this right between us, that could let us start over again, this time like normal people. I drew a complete blank though.

He seemed to give up waiting on me to explain myself though.

"Do you mind? I came back here to get away from everyone, not to be followed around like a puppy does his master. Just because we're in class together doesn't mean we're friends. If you're here with my family, you need to stay with them, not me," he said.

I flinched. There was a level of hatred here that I couldn't grasp. What could I possibly have done to warrant this? In all of the years back home I'd never made anyone as angry as I seemed to make this boy after only one day of knowing him. I decided to give it one last shot.

"I don't understand. What did I do to make you so pissed off at me? We don't even know each other yet, there's no way I could have offended you so much so quickly," I asked him.

I don't know what I was expecting, maybe I was hoping I'd be able to reach him, but never would I have thought he'd answer like he did.

"What makes you think this has anything to do with you? The world doesn't revolve around you for fucks sake. I just want to be left alone, and right now you can't seem to grasp that. It's not a hard concept really, though I know it might seem complicated. Try to keep up though, I'm sure if you tried really hard you could do it," he spit out.

I felt my anger rise at that. Whatever I had done, whatever triggered his anger towards me, there is no way I deserved this.

I knew then that no matter how attracted I was to Edward Cullen, no matter how beautiful he was, or much I felt pulled in his direction, he was not worth this. No man was worth putting up with this kind of thing for. In that moment I wrote Edward Cullen off.

Whatever happened here at Forks, whatever friends I'd end up making, whatever life I'd end up building for myself here, Edward Cullen would not be a part of. He didn't deserve to be part of my life in any way. I knew he managed to kill anything I might have possibly felt for him in that moment.

Edward Cullen was a bastard, and he wasn't worth my time.

"You know what asshole? Fuck you. I don't need this. Whatever your problem is, it's not up to me to deal with it. I hope you enjoy your solitude, because you're going to have a very lonely life if this is how you treat people," I was yelling at him, but I couldn't stop myself.

I was too angry to be the mature one and just walk away. I had to let him know what I thought of him, and then I had to walk away. I was done. Edward could have his solitude, and I'd get on with my life, he wasn't worth this.

Alice must have been waiting for me because she opened the front door before I even had a chance to knock. I could just tell that she had about a thousand questions she wanted to ask me, but I wasn't up for them. I cut her off before she could voice her questions.

"I'm sorry Alice, I have to go. Do you have my car keys?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're right here," she said as she pulled them out of her pocket and handed them to me.

"What happened Bella? Are you okay? You look upset, did something happen between you and Edward?" she asked.

"I just have to go, I'm sorry. I don't know why but for some reason being around me upsets your brother and I can't deal with his anger when I don't know what's causing it," I explained.

Alice nodded her head sadly, "Okay, I understand. Bella, I hope that you and I will still be able to be friends, despite this. I really like you and I think we could have a lot of fun together, and I know my brother Emmett really likes you too, he's never accepted someone into our folds so quickly. Please don't write us all off because of my idiot brother."

"Alice, I would love to be friends, with all of you. Just because your brother doesn't seem to like me doesn't mean the rest of us can't hang out. If you guys are willing to hang out with me despite your brother not liking me, then I'd be more then happy to too," I said.

She squealed with delight and then reached over and gave me a quick hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad. I really think we'll be good friends and I'd hate if that was screwed up because of him. Thanks Bella," she said.

I smiled at her and headed off for my truck, ready to get home, where my world would make sense again.

***************************************************

The next morning I headed into school, dreading it. I knew I had two classes with Edward, and I was not looking forward to them at all. I knew that today would be awkward after what happened the day before.

I was looking forward to seeing Alice though, the first person here I'd actually considered a friend. We had hadn't had that long to hang out the day before I felt like we were already friends. There was just something so easy and accepting about Alice that you couldn't help but feel comfortable around her.

I was by my locker in the morning when again, I was yanked up in a big bear hug. I knew without turning who it had to be, but had it confirmed by his laugh.

"Hey kid, what's up?" he asked as he placed me on the floor again.

"Hey Emmett," I said, then acknowledged the others behind him. "Hey Alice, Jasper. How are you guys?" I asked.

Alice was the first to answer, "We're good. Listen, we wanted to catch you before you made any plans for today. Do you want to hang out after school with the three of us for a bit? We could go out somewhere, or back to your house if you're not comfortable being at our house right now."

"I'd love to. We can go back to my house, Charlie, my dad, won't be home so it would just be us. Unless there was something else you had in mind? I don't know the area enough to recommend something," I said.

Emmett answered, "No, your house would be great. Listen, we came with Edward today, so would it be ok if we caught a ride with you again?"

"Sure. The only thing is someone would have to sit in the back again," I said.

"That's okay, I'll volunteer," Emmett said with a big smile on his face.

"He made us take one car instead of two like we had planned so that he would end up having to ride in the bed of your truck. He's like a giant dog or something," Jasper laughed.

Emmett made a face at him but let the comment go. I laughed, picturing Emmett riding in the back of my truck with a big smile on his face and the wind in his hair.

The bell was about to ring so we headed to our classes, with plans to meet up by my locker at the end of the day.

I was really glad they had stopped by, as it gave me something to look forward to today. It would help me get through Trig and then Biology.

It hadn't escaped my notice the absence of their sister Rosalie though. I figured some king of line must have been drawn, with Emmett, Alice, and Jasper on one side and Rosalie and Edward on the other. I was surprised that Emmett had decided he wanted to be my friend, even if his girlfriend apparently didn't, and was even more grateful to him.

The morning went pretty quickly, and before I knew it Angela and I were heading to Trig. I knew this would be the most awkward moment of the day, because I knew that Edward hadn't realized I was in his class yesterday. I took a deep breath to calm myself before walking through the door.

Edward was again already in his seat, but this time he was casually looking around the class. He saw me walk through the door and his eyes got round with surprise, before he quickly recovered giving me what could only be described as a dirty look.

I rolled my eyes at him and went and sat in my seat. It's not like I had somehow planned to be in his class. I had no control over these things.

Besides that slight interaction we ignored each other throughout the rest of class. I was sure we'd be doing a lot of that the rest of this year. I couldn't believe my life had been reduced to this, pretending that the guy sitting next to me didn't exist, while he sat there so obviously hating me. I sighed in frustration.

Well, there was nothing I could do about it. This was his choice, I was just acting accordingly.

By the time lunch rolled around I was pretty happy with how the day was turning out. Sure, I still had Biology to get through, but all in all it wasn't as miserable as I thought it was going to be.

Mike and I walked into the cafeteria together from Spanish. We both went up and got into line for lunch. As soon as we were in line Mike started craning his head to look around the cafeteria, I had a feeling he was looking to see if Jessica was here yet.

"Well that's weird," he said.

"What's weird?" I asked as I turned around to try to see what he was looking at.

Mike however was about a head taller then me, so whatever he was seeing was hidden from me.

"It's two of the Cullen kids, Alice and Jasper, they're sitting at our table," he explained.

My face lit up in a big smile. Even though I knew we were becoming friends I'd never expected them to not sit with their brother at lunch. That, I thought, would have been expecting too much.

Mike must have noticed my reaction because he asked, "You know them?"

"Yeah, they were stranded yesterday and I gave them a ride home. We hit it off," was all they I was willing to offer as an explanation.

I grabbed some lunch and went to sit down. Alice and Jasper apparently knew which seat was usually mine because they had chosen the two across from it. I smiled again as I sat down.

"Hey guys. This is an unexpected, but definitely pleasant, surprise," I said.

"Our brother is being an ass. We didn't think that should stop us from hanging out with our new friend," Alice explained.

Jasper smiled at me before explaining, "Emmett would have come over as well, but he didn't think it was right to abandon Rose, but he wanted us to tell you he would have come over otherwise."

I didn't want to intrude too much, or make them feel uncomfortable, but I wanted to ask them about Rosalie. I knew yesterday she hadn't been thrilled when I showed up, but I didn't know if it was loyalty to her brother or a dislike of me that was keeping her away from me. I just wanted to know where we stood with each other.

"So yeah, about Rosalie…" I started to ask, but Alice cut me off before I could get any farther.

"It's not you, and it's not because of Edward or anything. Rose is just being Rose. She doesn't like change, and it takes her a while to warm up to someone. It's easier for her to just try avoiding you right now. Don't write her off completely though, she'll eventually come around," she explained.

"Ever since our parents died she's a lot more protective of herself, not as willing to put herself out there and risk getting hurt. She'll have to watch you for a while before she's willing to put herself on the line and offer her friendship," Jasper added.

I nodded, understanding a little more. It made sense, especially since she had just met me yesterday, and now most of her family seemed determined to be my friend. I could see how that would bother her. I was willing to give her time and space, and hope that in the end she would come around, mainly because I liked Emmett and didn't want to lose him as a friend, or make him choose between hanging out with me or his girlfriend.

We chatted a little more before it was time to head off to our next classes. I said my goodbyes and promised to see them after school, and then mentally prepared myself for Biology. I was hoping it would go as easily as Trig had that morning.

I went in and found my seat, and pulled out my books and things I'd need for class. I tried to keep myself busy so that I wouldn't have to see him when he came in.

Just before the bell rang to signal the start of class he walked in and sat down. I'd wondered briefly if he timed it like that on purpose, but then thought I was probably being paranoid. We didn't bother acknowledging each other, preferring to ignore each other as we had through most of trig.

We weren't going to be that lucky however, as we apparently had a lab today.

One of us had to go up and collect the materials we would need, and before I could turn to Edward to volunteer he was up out of his seat and at the front of the room. I rolled my eyes again, something I seemed to be doing a lot of these days.

It was an acid base lab, and we were analyzing pH results of different household items, like coke, milk, and baking powder, that sort of thing. Normally I love labs, as they're a lot more interesting then lectures, but I was cursing my luck that we'd have one today of all days.

It was an uncomfortable hour, to say the least. Edward and I did our best to interact as little as possible. We were a stark contrast from our classmates whose happy chatter made me feel even more resentful towards Edward. It didn't have to be this way, but this was the path he had chosen for us, before he even had a chance to get to know me.

I hated him in that moment. Hated the fact that he had chosen this awkward non-relationship with each other over a possible friendship. Whatever he thought of me, it couldn't possibly warrant this. It was too late now to go back though. Whatever had prompted his absolute rejection of my friendship it had caused him to lash out at me in a way that I would never be able to put behind us. Not like it mattered anyway, as it was pretty apparent that Edward was perfectly happy with our lack of a relationship.

I felt a little defeated, but stopped myself before I started to feel sorry for myself. After all, I had made three new friends today, and had hanging out with them later to look forward to still. A week ago I never would have imagined even that small happiness for myself, so I was doing a lot better then I had expected.

I smiled slightly at the thought of Alice, Jasper, and Emmett. I was thankful for their friendship, and looking forward to getting to know them better.

It was nearing the end of class, so we started to clean up everything. Edward went and took our supplies back up to the front of the class, and I gathered all my books. Edward was back and grabbed his stuff just as the bell rang dismissing class. He was out of his seat in record time.

As he went to walk past me and head out the door he paused slightly, nodded his head at me and said "Isabella."

Then he walked out the door. It was the first word he'd spoken to me all day.

I didn't understand him at all. What was the point? He should have just kept walking instead of pretending to any level of civility between us.

I snorted in response, though he was already long gone. Stupid, stupid boy, I thought to myself.I'd wondered if I would ever completely understand the male brain, and in the end decided that I probably wouldn't want to.

I walked out the door and to my next class. I could now look forward to hanging out with the three Cullen's who actually seemed to like being around me, without the worry of having to deal with their brother hanging over me.

I'd made it through the parts of the day that I had been dreading, and in one piece. Now I could look forward to seeing my new friends.

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**A/N:**

_The lovely Alice is up next. Isn't that exciting? It is to me, as she's my favorite to write, but you're all probably aware of that by now. ;o)_

_Once again, thanks for reading, and a big thanks if you plan on reviewing._

_Expect a new addition to the world of Forks High soon, it's coming up on the horizon within the next few chapters. Ohhhhh, who will it be? Oh, wait, I know the answer to that! Too bad I'm not sharing yet. ;op_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**A/N:**_

_Okay, I need to send a big thanks to my friend AmandaCullen84. Whenever I need some mood music to get into the frame of mind for the character I'm writing I go to her and say, 'I need some Alice music' and she says 'Here you go' and voila! I have perfect Alice music. I almost feel like making it a little challenge now, to see if she always finds the exact right music. lol, anyway, go to my profile and you'll find her under my favorite authors list. Look her up and read her stories, and maybe even ask her to find you your perfect song. ;o) No pressure Amanda! lol_

_So do I still need to do the thing where I remind you all that this isn't Beta'd so please have patience about my mistakes? I'm guessing not by now. ;o)_

_Again, thank you to everyone reading this. It helps me sit down and write every day knowing that there are people actually following the story. And for those of you who take the time to review, a huge thanks, and for those of you who take the time to review every chapter, seriously, I love you all. You guys are what keep me going into the wee hours of the night (which is when I usually end up finishing my chapters)._

_I started out not really liking this chapter, or feeling it, but by the time I got to the end it jumped to one of my favorites, if not my very favorite, chapter. I don't know why, I think because we learn a lot about Edward. Anyway, hope you like it. Have fun, and thanks!_

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**Alice**

I was so happy that Bella wanted to be friends despite my brother acting like an ass. I would have been so pissed at him if he had screwed this up for me. Luckily for him Bella was willing to befriend the rest of us, despite his rude behavior.

When I saw her face after she got back from chasing after Edward I knew what he had done. I could just see it in my head, his last resort, treat her like shit and make her hate him. My brother could be such an idiot sometimes.

I panicked in that moment, thinking for sure she would want to stay far away from all of us, but she had agreed to be my friend. Which is the only thing that saved me from killing Edward, or at the very least beating him until he cried. I was tempted to beat him anyway, for being such a big ass to my new best friend, but I'd hate to see a man his age cry.

That night I talked to Em, Jasper and Rose about the situation. Rose wanted nothing to do with Bella which I wasn't really surprised about, but both Jasper and Emmett were willing to make a new friend, and so we decided to see if she'd hang with us after school the next day.

It was going to be a little weird for sure, but I had faith in our ability to navigate between the idiot that was our brother, and Bella. If anyone could do it I was sure I could.

We met up by Bella's locker after school. Because of Emmett we had to catch a ride with her, mainly so he could ride in the back of her truck. I've never seen someone take pleasure from such simple things. I swear, sometimes I think he's just a really big kid.

When we were all accounted for we headed out to the parking lot, Jasper and I hand in hand. This was going to be fun.

It was going to be really nice having a friend outside of our family again. I felt like for the past year or so that we've been getting more and more independent from the rest of the school, and dependent on each other. We'd talk to them in class or whatever activities we happened to be a part of, but when any of us were available we would just gravitate to each other, and away from everyone else.

I think it was self-preservation in a way, they still view us a little as freaks, so we distanced ourselves from them. Bella didn't make me feel like a freak, I was sure she saw me for me and not some weird girl dating her would-be brother.

We piled into the truck, possibly the slowest thing on the road, and headed to Bella's house. I felt a little jolt of excitement, it was like I was a normal teenaged girl again. I loved this, I was so happy Bella moved here.

Jasper could feel my excitement, he was so good at reading my moods, and gave my hand a little squeeze, and smiled at me without looking at me. We were trying to keep Bella comfortable, so were limiting our PDA's.

We chatted all the way to Bella's house, about how our days had gone, how much homework we had to do, stuff like that. Occasionally I would look back at Emmett sitting in the bed of the truck, but he seemed to be totally content back there.

He was leaning against the side of the bed, with his arms up on the sides, with his head facing the road in front of us. I didn't know how he could take the wind or the cold, but he seemed perfectly in his element. Silly boy.

When we pulled up to Bella's house and got out of the truck I looked over at Emmett and just started cracking up. His hair was sticking up every which way and it made him look a little crazy. Jasper and Bella turned to see what I was laughing at and joined in. Emmett was not as amused. He fixed his hair as we headed inside.

Bella gave us a little tour of her house and as soon as we ended up back downstairs Emmett plopped down on the sofa and said, "So, whatchya got to eat?"

Crap. I forgot to warn Bella that Emmett was a human garbage disposal who needed to eat copious amounts of food at regular intervals throughout the day. If she didn't have anything for him to eat we were going to be in trouble.

We got lucky.

"What would you like? I could make up some nachos if you want?" she asked.

Emmett's eyes lit up, he loved nachos. I went in to help her get them together and the boys hung out in the living room.

"So, how'd it go today with my brother?" I asked.

"It went, well, not so good. Alice, I don't want to put you in the middle of us though. This is going to be uncomfortable enough for you without me adding to it," she said.

I hopped onto her counter and watched as she shredded some cheese for the nachos, and heated the oven. I didn't want to push her to tell me what had happened, I figured I'd get it out of Edward later anyway, so I decided to switch subjects.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" I asked.

"Nothing, at least I don't think I'm doing anything. I don't know if Charlie has any plans for me, but I doubt it. He'll probably go out fishing with some of his friends," she answered.

"Good. So you'll be able to come clothes shopping with me on Saturday," I said.

She groaned and I knew this probably wouldn't be her favorite way to spend a Saturday, but I was too excited about buying her some new clothes, and dressing her to her full potential to let her off easy.

"Alice, isn't there anything else you'd rather do?" she asked.

"In fact, there isn't. Shopping is my favorite recreational activity, and I especially love shopping for other people, and you Bella Swan need some Alice approved threads," I answered.

"Okay, look, I'll come shopping with you, but I have no plans to buy anything. My money is kind of tight right now and I have enough clothes already so I'm not about to spend money on more when I don't need them," she said.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to buy anything, I was going to buy you some clothes," I explained.

"No. Absolutely not Alice. You barely know me, you're not buying me new clothes. That would just be wrong," she said.

I laughed out loud at that. Poor Bella, she was so clueless when it comes to living in Alice's World. Somebody needed to get this girl caught up, and fast.

I decided to humor her for the moment, thinking if I explained to her that there was no way I was going out shopping and not coming home with new clothes for her I'd probably never get her out. So I pretended that I wouldn't try to buy her anything. Hehehe, she was definitely going to be inducted into my world soon enough.

The nachos were done and we headed out to the living room. Emmett immediately sat up and started chowing down. Bella went back and grabbed some glasses and soda for us and we were quiet for a few minutes while everyone snacked.

Emmett was the first one to speak again, and he immediately went for the same subject I had.

"So, what exactly is up between you and my brother? No one's really talking about it right now. All I know is that you don't want to be around him so if we wanted to hang out with you it would have to be away from him. Not that you're not worth it, but I was just wondering what the reasons were, since he's not up to talking about it. Nearly bit my head off last night when I asked him," he said.

Bella heaved a sigh and thought it over for a minute, "I just explained to Alice that I don't want to put you guys in the middle of us. That doesn't seem fair. He's your brother and I don't want you to have to feel like you need to take sides. Not just because I know I wouldn't, and shouldn't, win in that situation, but because I honestly don't think it would be fair of me," she explained.

Emmett snorted. "I love my brother, but that doesn't mean I don't realize he can be an ass sometimes, and I'm guessing this is one of those cases. You don't have to worry about us, we can handle ourselves, but only when we know what's actually going on. I can't help mediate a situation, or kick my brothers ass if he deserves it, if I have no clue what's happening.

Bella laugher a little but still looked undecided.

"He's right you know," Jasper cut in. "We're feeling around in the dark right now. We don't know enough to know how to deal with the situation. Edward's not talking, so I'm afraid you're going to be the one who has to."

I think it was the fact that we felt clueless that made her finally give in. Bella was obviously one of those people who worried about everyone else first.

"I don't know what happened honestly. We had biology together yesterday and I could feel then that something was weird. He ignored me throughout the whole class and then as I was getting ready to leave he called out his name at me. He introduced himself and then just walked out. Next time we saw each other was in your music room, and you saw what happened there. When I followed him outside it was like he couldn't stand to be anywhere near me. He basically told me to get the hell away from him, though not in those exact words, so I left. Today he completely ignored me except as we were leaving Biology, he nodded his head at me, said 'Isabella' and then left. And that brings us up to date," she explained.

I sat there stunned. I was sure yesterday that something bigger happened, that we had only witnessed a small part of their interactions, but there was nothing going on behind the scenes apparently. Edward's reactions were totally unprovoked in every way, and after only spending a tiny amount of time around Bella. I looked over at Jasper and Emmett and I could tell they were just as surprised as I was.

We looked at each other and silently agreed to talk about Edward's behavior later, when we would be able to hash it out better. For the moment we had to try to make our brother look a little less crazy, though I'd doubt we'd succeed.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I don't really understand what's going on with Edward, and he's my twin so I probably should, but I can tell you that he's not usually like this. Edward's always the calm one, the one who doesn't react with his emotions, or let them get in the way. This, how he's been acting around you, this isn't my brother. I don't really know who this is actually," I tried to explain.

"Damn Edward," Emmett put in, "I don't know what the hell is wrong with him. I promise Bella, we'll straighten him out for you."

"No!" she practically yelled before continuing on more calmly. "No Emmett, promise me you won't say anything to him. This is exactly what I didn't want, you guys feeling like you had to step in between us."

"Geeze Bella, he's being an ass though! I feel like he needs a little sense beat into him. You're a perfectly nice person, you don't need that kind of shit, especially from someone who I know doesn't usually treat people like that. Someone needs to do something about it," Em replied.

"No, look, we did okay today ignoring each other, I think that's for the best. I'm not ready to forgive or forget the things he said to me yesterday, so I think it's best if we keep on like we're doing right now. If it gets too much for you guys, I'll understand, but for now I'd prefer to just leave it as it is," she said.

We all collectively sighed. Bella was our friend now, and Edward was our brother, we wanted to be able to hang out with both of them at the same time. For Bella's sake though, we'd honor her wishes.

Just then we heard a car door close and then the front door open. Chief Swan came in and turned to see a bunch of kids he didn't know sitting around in his living room. You could tell he was caught off guard because he froze for a second before he recovered.

"Afternoon," he said.

We all answered simultaneously, "Afternoon Chief Swan."

Bella stood up, saying, "Dad, these are my new friends. This is Alice, and her brother Emmett, and Jasper."

I was pretty impressed with how she handled our introductions. People who've known us much longer stumbled over them, not sure how to handle the intricacies of our relationships.

Chief Swan nodded slightly asking, "You're the Cullen kids aren't you?"

Emmett stood up and went over to him, offering his hand for a shake, "Yes sir, we are. Emmett Cullen, at your service."

I quietly laughed, Emmett was always such a smooth talker to parents. He loved being loved by them, and he usually was. You couldn't help but love Em.

Jasper and I both stood up and went over to shake Chief Swan's hand, introducing ourselves as we did.

"I know your father a little, from work. I've had to consult with him a few times, nice guy. I've seen you lot around town before but never had reason to talk with you. It's nice to meet you though, and call me Charlie, I'm only Chief Swan at work," he said.

We made small talk for a minute or two before I finally said, "We should probably get going, we'll need to get home for dinner."

"Let me throw our nacho plate in the sink and grab my keys and I'll take you guys home," Bella said.

Charlie looked over at us asking, "You all caught a ride here with Bella today?"

"Yes sir, we did," Jasper answered.

"How'd you fit in the truck?" Charlie asked.

"I road in the bed of the truck, and Jasper and Alice sat up front," Em answered.

Charlie frowned, saying, "You road in the bed? I'll ignore the fact that that's not legal for the moment, but it's cold out there. Weren't you freezing?"

"Nope, I'm naturally a warm guy, so it was fine. I loved it," he answered.

"Well, I'll let it go for now, but I don't want you kids riding in the back of the truck like that, it's dangerous. If you can't manage to catch a ride here then Bella can call me at work and I'll either come pick you up or will send someone to do it," he said.

I was shocked that he would go out of his way like that for us, and smiled, deciding I liked Chief Swan a lot.

We promised we would find a different way here next time if we came together again and said goodbye and headed out the door. We chatted easily all the way home, Em in the back again, we'd definitely all become friends by now. I was so happy, I loved that we all fit so well together. If we could just get Rose and Edward to fit now, it would be perfect.

We had Bella drop us off at the end of the driveway, preferring to walk the rest of the way so we'd had time to talk unheard. We said our goodbye's and thank you's and watched Bella pull away.

I was the first to speak at that point asking, "So what do you guys think?"

"I think he's in love with her," Jasper answered.

"He wouldn't be treating her like shit if he was," Emmett countered.

"No, I think he would actually," Jasper answered. "He's been closing himself off little by little. I think it's his way of protecting himself. We sometimes forget that of all of us he was hurt the most when Alice and I and then you and Rose started dating. We were ostracized by the school and he watched as people he considered good friends turned on him, and for what? He didn't have an Alice, or a Rose waiting for him at the end to make it all worth while. He stood with us because we are his family, but he lost a lot because of it, because of our decisions. So he starts shutting out the world, building this little box around himself as a way to cope, and then along comes this girl and the walls he put up don't do anything to protect him. He starts falling her before he even knows her and it freaks him out. What else could possibly explain away his behavior? He's never rude or an ass unless provoked, and from spending time around Bella I can't picture her provoking him, not intentionally, and not to the level he would need to be pushed to act the way he's been acting. No, I think he's falling in love, and he's freaking out over it, and trying to scare her off."

It made perfect sense. I had been thinking along the same lines myself actually. I knew my brother well, and I've never seen him lose his control so quickly and so thoroughly. In my eyes love, and the fear that would come with it for him, would be the only thing that could make sense of his behavior lately.

"Well, shit. Okay, so what if you're right, which I'm starting to think you are. What do we do now about it? We can't let him fuck it all up, she's too nice to let him screw with her head, and I think they'd be good together. Not to mention that I genuinely like her and want to be her friend. So, what do we do now?" Emmett asked.

Both he and Jasper turned to me.

"What?" I asked.

"Look you little pixie, you're the schemer here, if anyone can devise a plan it's going to be you. You interfere with people's lives all the time, so don't think that when the perfect opportunity arrives for you to put your nose where it doesn't belong that I'm gonna let you just watch it pass you by," Em said.

I laughed at that a little. He was right, but unfortunately nothing was coming to me, not yet anyway. Something would need to change before we could do anything to push them together. I was afraid that we'd have to wait it out a bit.

I sighed in frustration. I wasn't used to admitting defeat, but neither of them wanted to be around the other right now and there was only so much I could do with that.

"I think we need to give it a little time. Neither of them are ready to deal with the other. In the meantime I think we should let Edward be, and enjoy our new friendship with Bella. Eventually they'll come around, and if not, well we'll make them," I said.

They both agreed we'd give it a little time, and we headed towards the house.

Just as we came into view of the house Em asked, "So, do you think he realizes that he's falling for her?"

I was trying to think of the answer when Jasper beat me to it. "No, I doubt it. I can't imagine even Edward being able to push her so effectively away if he actually knew that he loved her. I think on some level he would acknowledge that it would hurt him if she was out of his life. He can definitely be a selfish creature, and I think when it comes to something like this his selfishness would kick in and save him from cutting her off completely. I don't think he's aware yet of how deep his emotions run in regards to Bella Swan."

"He's certainly going to kick himself when he finally catches up and figures it out," I said.

Em smiled evilly, saying, "I so can't wait for that to happen. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finally realizes he scared off the one person probably perfect for him."

I only hoped he'd realize it in time, before it was too late for him to find his happily ever after with the girl who stole his heart before he'd even had a chance to defend it from her. Silly boy, he was lost before he'd even had a chance. I was there to witness it, his heart belonged to her that first time they'd made eye contact in the cafeteria, and nothing he did would be able to change that.

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**A/N:**

_So, what did you think? Did you end up loving it as much as I did, or not so much? It won't hurt my feelings if it's not so much ;o)_

_I'd love to hear what you all thought, so if you have the time drop me a review, even if it's just to tell me what you don't like. It helps to get feedback so I know which direction to go._

_I finally worked out a major plot point in my head tonight. It's something I've been floundering over for the past few days, unsure of what direction I wanted to go. I've finally gotten it and I think it's going to work wonderfully. I only ask that you trust me for a bit, I know it's a lot to ask, but I think it will be worth it in the end. You just gotta have faith. ;o)_

_Thanks again everyone for reading. Next chapter will be, uhhhh, actually who will next chapter be? Oh, yeah, Edward. Silly me._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, as always.**_

_**A/N:**_

_Okay, I need to sent a big thanks out to my friend AmandaCullen84, who at 2:30 in the morning was nice enough to look this chapter over and tell me that it wasn't a bunch of crap that I needed to just scrap. lol, thanks Amanda!!!_

_You know, sometimes you just have one of those nights where you're not feeling the writing, and then you get to the end and want to bang your head against the computer yelling "This is all just a big ole pile of dog crap!" and hit the delete button. Tonight was one of those nights, but luckily I asked Amanda to take a look and was assured that it wasn't as bad as I thought. Thank goodness. I'm not sure if I could have done it over without crying._

_Anyway, I kept this one fairly short. I just needed to get through it. To make up for the fact that this is shorter then normal for me, I'll be posting two chapters today, though the second one will definitely be short, and it won't have much to do with the actual story. It's just for fun, to make up for the shortness of this one. It'll be a Jessica chapter. I had no intentions of doing a Jessica chapter, but I refer to Jessica a couple times in a not so flattering way (even more so then SM does) and I thought I'd clue you in on what I thought it was like to be in my version of her characters head. So, I hope you'll enjoy my apology chapter. lol_

_As usual, thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and a HUGE thank you to those of you who pause in your day to review this. You should know by now how great I think you all are. :o)_

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**Edward**

The next couple of weeks were probably among the worst of my life. It was torture watching Isabella Swan, and not touching. I wanted to be a part of her life, but I had made sure that that wasn't possible.

I had effectively cut myself out of her life, and so I was forced to watch from the sidelines. The pull I felt towards her never went away, never dissipated at all. If anything, it had gotten more intense. Time, it seemed, would not heal this particular wound.

I began to hate myself. I had done this to myself after all. I had resisted her, and my need for her, and I was paying the price for that. I was in a constant state of confusion. I wanted her more then I've ever wanted anything or anyone before, and, yet, my resolve hadn't weakened at all. I knew I had made the right decision, even if I was paying a high price because of it.

What did I have to offer her anyway? I knew that I was an emotional fuckwit, how could I possibly be good for her? What could I give her but heartache.

I knew I was right and it only reinforced my decision to stay away from her. But I was miserable because of it.

I had become withdrawn and sullen. I stopped talking to people, even my family. Poor Esme and Carlisle had no idea what to do about me. I'm guessing Alice or someone had clued them in to what had happened, because they never asked me what was causing my sour mood. I could see them trying to figure out ways to fix it though, to no avail.

I began to resent Alice, Jasper, and Emmett. Their relationship with Isabella had grown over the past few weeks until they were a tight little group. Jasper and Alice in particular were almost inseparable from Isabella, Emmett having to split his time between their little group and Rose.

I could feel that even Rose was starting to come around when it came to Isabella. She still wasn't willing to hang out with her, but she was also not nearly as bitchy when Isabella came up in conversation, and she even occasionally commented on an Isabella related story. I knew it probably wouldn't be long before Rose started hanging out with their little group too. The thought pissed me off.

Rose was my last ally. When the others all went off to enjoy themselves doing god knows what with Isabella, Rose and I were left to our own devices. We didn't often get along, and we rarely hung out when it was just the two of us, but it helped knowing I wasn't the only one wandering the house, doing my best to keep away from Isabella.

If Rose gave in and crossed over to the Dark Side then I'd be the only one left.

That thought brought on a new wave of resentment. I couldn't believe how thoroughly my family had abandoned me. I felt like, outside of school, I hardly saw them at all. I was their brother, I'd sacrificed a lot for their happiness, and yet they ran off and abandoned me the first chance they got.

I sighed loudly as I plopped down on my bed. It was after school and, as usual, Rose and I were the only ones home. We'd taken two cars into school today so that Em, Alice, and Jaz were able to head over to Bella's house right after school. They had driven my car, which only added to my annoyance, and Rose and I drove home in her car. So not only were they abandoning me, but it looked like they were trying to kill me too.

I knew deep down that this wasn't their fault. They were just trying to do the best with the situation I had made for them. I couldn't expect them to not form a friendship with Isabella just because I had chosen not to. It would be unfair to them and it would be unfair to Isabella, who hadn't done anything wrong.

So I knew they weren't trying to hurt me, and I knew they were trying to hang out with me as well, but I also knew I wasn't making it easy for them.

I knew that I was being an asshole. I was moody and miserable and I was lashing out at everyone around me in hopes that it would somehow make me feel better. It only made me feel worse though. I was stuck in some kind of twisted self-tormenting loop. I wasn't sure that I was able to see a way out of it.

At night I would lay in bed and allow myself to hope that something would change, that I would begin to forget about Isabella, or that she would have less of an effect over me, otherwise the next year and a half was going to be pretty damn miserable.

I stared up at my bedroom ceiling trying to decide what to do. I thought about putting some music on, but I didn't have the energy to stand up and go over to my stereo. So, I continued to stare aimlessly at the ceiling.

It wasn't long before I heard a knock at my door. I rolled my eyes in frustration. I knew who had to be on the other side of my door, because she was the only other person home, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why she'd be knocking.

Rose hardly ever came up to my room, in fact, she rarely came up to the third floor, something about all the testosterone up here in one place kept her away. Whatever it was that brought her up here I knew it must have been fairly important, so I doubted she would just go away if I pretended to ignore her.

I finally called out, "Come in Rose."

She opened the door and walked in, asking, "How'd you know who it was?"

I tapped my forehead a couple of times, pretending I used my little ability to read her mind and know it was her, mainly because I knew it would annoy her. She hated that I was able to peak in at her thoughts. I don't know why, it's not like she had any deep dark secrets or anything. For the most part her mind was a pretty uninteresting place to be.

I wasn't about to tell her that I'd pretty much stopped using my ability completely over the last few weeks. I honestly didn't want to know what the people around me were thinking. I didn't want to peak in at their thoughts when they were thinking about how I've been acting like an asshole, or how great Isabella was. Reading their thoughts would only have made me feel worse, so I avoided it.

Rose sat at my desk chair, swiveling it around to face the bed. I was still staring up at the ceiling, trying me best to ignore her. Hopefully, she'd make this quick.

She sighed loudly, I guess finally realizing that I wasn't going to bother looking over at her and started talking.

"Listen Edward, I'm tired of hanging around the house with nothing but your moping to keep me company. I just came up to let you know I'm folding," she said.

"You're folding?" I asked, hoping she would clarify.

"Yeah, I'm folding my hand, putting my cards down. I've put it off as long as I could, but I'm tired of spending time away from Emmett, and I'm tired of being stuck here with you when you've been acting so miserable. I don't really mind Bella anymore, if Em is friends with her I have to trust that she's worth the effort of getting to know," she explained.

"Have you been feeling like this for a while now?" I asked.

"About a week, I put it off as long as possible," she answered.

I lifted my head slightly to look over at her as I asked, "Why?"

"Because of you. I didn't think it was fair if we all left you, but I'm starting to think you want to be left. You seem towant to be miserably, so I figured I'd leave you to it," she said.

I dropped my head back on the bed while I thought that over. We were quiet for a few minutes and then Rose sighed and stood up. I stopped her just before she opened the door to leave.

"Rose," I said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'm not acting like this to be an ass or anything. I'm not doing it just to screw with you guys or something," I said.

"I know Edward, but seriously? You need to get yourself together. This, whatever you're doing now? It's not working. Take some time and get your head cleared, do what you got to do, but then get your shit together. Either go after her or forget about her. You're not doing anyone any good by laying around here miserably sulking after her. This isn't you, it's not the Edward I know," she said.

I nodded my head and rolled out of bed to put my stereo on and Rose quietly left my room. I knew she was right, I had to get myself together and forget about her. It was time to move on.

**************************************************

The next day we all rode in together in one car. I figured that meant that Alice and Jaz would be the only ones heading over to Isabella's house today, but didn't bother asking.

Once in school we headed off in different directions. We would see each other throughout the day, but wouldn't have a good chance to talk again until lunch. If they all sat at our table that is.

Em always sat there because he always sat with Rose, but Alice and Jaz mixed things up, sitting with us about half of the time and Isabella the other half. Honestly I didn't know how they could stomach sitting that close to Jessica, who I knew was a vile human being. I tried to stay out of her head as much as humanly possible.

I would only have to get through Trig until lunch time. This is what I did, I split my day up into sections that revolved around when I'd have to be in close proximity to Isabella. I was lucky in that we only had two classes together, but then I also had to watch her at lunch, where she'd be relaxed and laughing and chatting. None of which she did with me in class. Lunch was almost as bad as Biology. Almost, but not quite.

Once I was out of Bio I was free for the day, all of my Isabella classes behind me. This should have been my favorite part of the day, but I had to admit to myself that I hated it just as much as the earlier part of the day. At least I felt alive when I was near her, the second half of the day I felt like a zombie, walking around but not really living.

I was fully aware that I was pathetic.

This situation was untenable. I was like some kind of weird stalker who didn't want to get anywhere near his prey. I needed help.

I got through Trig in one piece, ignoring Isabella as usual, while she followed suit. I wasn't even sure who was actually ignoring who at this point, which seemed kind of sad to me.

I'd made it through to lunch, which means the worst was almost behind me. I headed into the cafeteria to find Alice and Jasper sitting at our table. I wondered what was up but figured they felt like they should spend some time with us.

As soon as I sat down I knew something was up though. I could feel it radiating off of Alice. Even Jasper looked tense, his jaw firmed in what looked like determination. Before I could stop myself I got a bit nervous, wondering what could have possibly happened.

I was about to ask what was up when Alice held her hand up, saying, "Just wait till Em and Rose get here and I'll explain."

Rose came in at sat down, raising an eyebrow at the tense atmosphere but opting to not ask any questions. It took Em a few minutes to go stand in line for lunch and then come sit down.

"Okay Alice, we're all here. What's up?" I asked.

"Okay, look, it's not a big deal or anything, but I thought you should know. I just heard it myself actually, in my last class," she hedged.

"Cut to the chase Alice. What did you hear? If it's not a big deal then spit it out," I interrupted her with.

She grimaced a little before answering. "It's James. He's coming back."

I froze for a good minute before finally spitting out, "Coming back where? To town? Not to school, right?"

"Both actually. To town and to school," she answered.

"Is that even possible? I thought he was kicked out?" I asked.

"No, his dad pulled him out before he was kicked out, and then donated some new buses or something like that. He bought him out of trouble basically. I'm sorry Edward, I know this is the last thing you'll want to deal with now," she said.

"When does he start back?" I asked.

All I got was silence for an answer.

"Alice. When. Does. He. Start. Back?" I was losing my patience.

"Tomorrow," she finally answered.

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I slammed my hands on the table loud enough so that everyone in the cafeteria got quiet, and stood up and walked out, not caring what they thought of me.

This was the last fucking thing I needed.

James fucking Black was coming back to Forks High, I knew my life was about to become hell.

*****************************************************************

**A/N:**

_There you go. That was for some reason a pain in my ass to write. I'm glad it's over. I hope you liked it, even if just a little._

_OOOOHHHHHH, wait!!! Did we just learn who the new character is going to be??? Fun stuff! How exciting. lol. Sorry you have to wait for details! I have to keep you coming back for more though! ;o)_

_Okay, now, before you all start PMing me or sending me reviews telling me it's Jacob Black, not James Black, James Black is a composite character, made up of Jacob and James. I'm totally Team Edward though, and just can't bring myself to write Jacob into my story (I'm so sorry Team Jacobite's(I just made that up, thought it was kind of clever. No? oh well)!!! It's better this way though, as you wouldn't like my version of Jacob) so I went more towards the James direction._

_Next chapter will be Bella I guess. Hmmmm, I thought it was Alice. I need to start paying more attention! lol. Besides the Jessica chapter that is, which doesn't count in the grande scheme of things._

_Thanks for reading. I'm gonna do a little self-promotion here and tell you to tell your friends about this story if you're liking it! I'd greatly appreciate it. I would give you a cookie for doing so, but I don't have enough time to cook what with the writing and all. You'd have to choose between a cookie and the next chapter, and before you go saying the cookie you should know I'm not the best cook. Now, if we were talking brownies, that would be a different story. I'm fabulous at making brownies, but I'm not so good at the whole sharing them thing. Anyway, spread the word!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_Okay, like I said, just a side chapter to keep you busy. I was just goofing around, and wanted to let you see into Jessica's head. This is why Edward refers to her as a hag, and other fun stuff._

_This needs a warning lol. It is, well, Jessica is pretty foul and so of course is this chapter. If you're not into raunchiness, or cursing, or general nastiness, then you should probably skip this chapter. It will have no effect on the overall story, if you skip it you won't be missing a single thing, and I won't be upset. It's not for everyone (especially if you're on the young side!)._

_Now that that is out of the way. It is nasty, and we get to see Jessica in all of her glory, I tried to have fun with it though. I hope that comes through. I hope you enjoy it, well, as much as you could enjoy the drivel that comes out of Jessica._

_If you're a Jessica fan, I'm sorry! This is my version of her not SM, so I hope you'll understand._

_For everyone else, enjoy! ;o)_

_*******************************************************_

**Jessica**

Oh my god, Cullen just lost it right in the middle of the fucking cafeteria. How embarrassing. I loved it. He needed to be taking down a notch, or two, or twenty, anyway.

He's a big fucking dickhead. I hate him. I hate them all. They think they own this fucking place, they so don't. We all think their freaks, but we're too nice to tell them, to their faces.

Fucking Edward. What a prick. I used to like him, I used to think he was hot shit, now I just think he's scum. He thinks he's too good for the girls here at Forks. He's not. Lauren said her friend Cindy's cousin Samantha hooked up with him at a party last year and said he was a horrible kisser. She didn't say whether he was a good lay or not, probably doesn't know. She'd lie though and pretend she did, I'd bet money on it.

Whatever pissed Cullen off it must have been big, I've never seen him react like that so publicly. Plus, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were sitting over there with him, I'm guessing for support, instead of hanging out at our table like they seemed to feel the need to do every fucking day now.

Fucking Bella. If I had any idea that she'd make friends with the Bobbsey Twins I would have never invited her to sit with us that first day. I only invited her to anyway because as the new girl she was getting all the attention, and I didn't think that was fair.

But I went out of my way to be nice to her and she goes and makes friends with the weirdo-s, Alice and Jasper, and next thing you know they're practically camped out at our table. Why the fuck doesn't she go sit at their table instead? That would be better.

Then I wouldn't have to worry about Mike checking her out. He does, when he thinks I'm not paying attention. He's a little horn-dog and he's got it bad for Miss Isabella Swan. Stupid Bitch. He's with me though, not her, so fuck her. I make sure to take care of his needs, so he doesn't feel the need to stray.

What the hell is Angela wearing today? Can't that girl even manage to dress herself properly? She's hopeless. She's another one I was nice too, who totally didn't appreciate it.

She doesn't belong at our table, this is the cool table, and she's plain old boring Angela. Too tall and too quiet to catch anyone's attention. I felt bad for her one day and invited her over to sit with us, and also because I hadn't done my History homework and was hoping to copy, and she just hasn't gone away since. She's like my puppy dog, following me around now.

I'm too nice for my own good. I pick up all these strays out of kindness and then they take advantage of my friendship. They're bitches, the whole lot of them. And most of them are totally jealous of me. Lauren in particular. That bitch would kill to be me.

She was totally in love with Tyler, who totally had a thing for Bella. I had to admit I was totally excited about the fact that Bella had put a crimp in Lauren's love life. She's another one who needed to be knocked down a notch or two.

Lauren is totally my only competition at Forks High for the popular girl. I probably would have had more if Rosalie and Alice weren't such sluts, sleeping with their brothers like that. EWWWWWWWWWWW. It still completely grossed me out. I want to gag when I think about it.

It was incestuous for crying out loud! And they wondered why we all freaked out about it. It's not like we were being unfair, they're brothers and sisters! Brothers and sisters are not supposed to date, they're just not.

Okay, so technically they're not related by blood, but they all live in the same house and call each other family. It's just skeezy if you ask me.

Anyway, if they weren't such freaks they'd probably give me a run for my money. They're definitely beautiful, and even I could admit that when it comes to looks not even I could compete with Rosalie. Like I said, lucky for me she was a freak.

So that left me and Lauren. I was totally in the lead though, I could just tell. Anyone could, you could totally see it one everyone's faces as they looked at me. They were jealous of me, most of them wanting to be me, or be with me. Who could blame them? I was hot, and smart, and sweet and caring. What's not to love?

I wondered where Cullen had run off to. He hadn't come back yet, and I wondered if he was hiding out somewhere, too embarrassed to show his face again. Maybe he'd need a little comforting? Maybe I should go find him and offer my services? He was a freak and an ass, but he was a fucking hot one. I'd love the chance to tap that.

Then I'd be the only one at Forks High who'd be able to say they fucked Edward Cullen. At least I'm pretty sure I'd be the only one. If someone else has had that particular pleasure they're sure keeping their mouth sealed shut. I doubt anyone had, I can't imagine anyone being able to keep that to themselves.

I wonder if he's a virgin? No way, not with that body. Hotness. Yummm, I got wet just thinking about it. Seriously. Someone has had to have hit that, just not anyone here. Maybe he was into older woman? That would make sense.

Hmmmm, so should I go find him? Decisions, decisions. Sure, I was with Mike now, but no way Mike could compete with Cullen. They were just in two different leagues. Mike was fun, but Cullen would be like taking home a trophy. No one else had managed to pull it off, I'd be the first. That would certainly bring some bragging rights, and then even Lauren wouldn't be able to compete. I'd go down in Forks History as the most popular girl ever. Mmmmmmm, that would be awesome.

I totally should go after him. How much time until our next class started anyway? Is it enough time for me to track him down, comfort him, and then bang him real fast? I hope so…oh fuck. Damn it! The fucking bell just rang…

************************************************************

**A/N:**

_So what did you think? This is my first attempt at something so extreme, and I felt nervous about it lol. If you hated it I'm sorry! But no worries, this will be Jessica's only appearance, so you won't have to go through it again._

_Bella is up next, we'll get back to the story with her chapter. Thanks for having patience with me!_


	14. Chapter 14

**WilightTay elongsBay OTay tephenieSay EyerMay. **

For those of you who don't speak Piglatin...Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

**A/N:  
**

_So, I started this last night and had to finish it today. Usually I sit down and write a chapter out all in one go, but I'm really glad I didn't with this one. Last night I was so not in the mood to write and wasn't having a lot of fun, but for some reason today I ended up getting really into this chapter. I hope you like the results._

_As usual, thank you to everyone who read this, and a HUGE thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to review this. You all know by now that I heart you. ;o)_

**Bella**

The school was abuzz over some new kid who apparently wasn't new at all. I was still waiting for the full explanation on that. I didn't get much out of Alice yesterday because she sat with Edward at lunch, and then headed home after school to 'deal with the situation' as she had said. I wasn't sure what exactly that had meant.

This was one of those times where it was confusing to be the new kid. I was sure that I was probably the only one who didn't have a clue what was going on with this new guy, James, I think I heard his name was.

I figured at some point today Alice would eventually clear things up for me. Meantime, I was no longer the New Kid…at least, I didn't think I was anymore.

I had just opened my locker and was bent down getting my stuff sorted when I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me.

"Hmmmmmm, well, the view sure has improved around this place since I was last here," the voice said.

I stood up to see who the voice belonged to and turned to find a guy I didn't recognize looking me over.

He was moderately cute. He looked to be about six foot, tall but not too tall, with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. Definitely in the okay category, but not in a draw-dropping kind of way or anything, not like Edw…NO, I wasn't going to say the name. Not even in my head.

I was pretty sure the strange guy had been staring at my ass, but didn't feel up to finding out. Some things you were just better off not asking about.

I'd only been going to Forks High for like three weeks now, but I was sure this was someone I'd never seen before, which led me to believe that I had just inauspiciously met the new guy.

"James, I presume?" I asked.

He arched an eyebrow at me, using my question as an excuse to take another once over at me. I rolled my eyes at him. What else could I do?

"Well, it looks like you have the advantage here, as I have no idea who you might be. I'd be happy to find out though, I can assure you," he replied.

'_I bet you would be,_' I thought to myself.

I knew his type. I had standing in front of me a good old fashioned smooth talking player. I'd dealt with them before, I wasn't about to fall for this one's charms.

"Yeah, maybe another time James," I said as I turned and shut my locker door then headed off to my first class.

I wasn't about to make this easy for him. I had no tolerance for players. I'd dealt with enough of them in my old school to know to stay clear of them. They were nothing but trouble.

Now that I had had a chance to meet the new guy I was less curious about his back-story. It didn't seem worth it to find out more about someone I had every intention of avoiding.

**************************************************

I had managed to make it till my third class of the day, History, before having to deal with another encounter with James.

I had just sat down and pulled out my book when he walked through the door. I could see him take in the class and then stop when he reached me.

Great. This was going to be fun.

He approached the teacher, gave his info, and was assigned a seat…directly behind me. His face lit up in a triumphant smile as he made his way towards me.

As he approached I sighed loudly, hoping to communicate my displeasure with the situation. Whatever he thought, I was not setting myself up as some kind of game for him, like some king of prey waiting to be caught in his trap.

As he took his seat behind me, he said in way of greeting, "Hello Duchess."

Despite myself my curiosity was piqued. "Excuse me?" I asked.

"Well, as you didn't see fit to introduce yourself to me this morning I had to come up with me own name for you. Duchess seemed to fit. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he answered.

Ohhhhh. He was good, even I had to admit to that. Unfortunately for him I wasn't in the mood, for the games or for the false flattery.

"Call me what you want James, but don't expect me to answer," I said.

"And she side-steps and introduction yet again. You're good darling, but I can assure you," he paused as he leaned over the desk, "I'm better." He whispered it against my ear, causing my skin to tingle in spite of myself.

I was saved from having to come up with a retort by class starting. I breathed a sigh of relief and heard him laugh softly in return.

Obviously, I was going to have to be careful. For whatever reason I'd somehow managed to catch James' attention, and he seemed to be coming at me with everything he had.

****************************************

I walked into the cafeteria to find Alice sitting at Edwards table again. I gave her a little wave and a smile and headed up into line to get my lunch.

I wasn't surprised to see her sitting with Edward today, but I had hoped despite myself that she would have opted to sit with me. I wasn't really curious about James any longer, but at this point I felt like I could use all the information I could get as a defense against him. We seemed to have a little battle going on at the moment, and I wasn't willing to lose this one.

I grabbed my lunch and went over and sat at my usual table, staring morosely at the two empty seats across from me. I looked over at Alice and Jasper, sitting with Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward, wishing not for the first time that I would be welcomed there.

While I knew that Jasper, Alice, and Emmett would gladly have welcomed me to their table, I knew that Edward would not, and I was pretty sure Rosalie at this point would feel the same.

I was still wistfully looking over at the Cullen table when I felt, more than saw, someone sit down across from me. I was just about to turn to see who it was when I noticed the look on Edward's face.

He was staring in my direction with this look of intense hatred. I was taken aback. Since that day by the rock he hardly ever looked at me anymore, and when he did it was only with a look of mild boredom on his face.

I was trying to figure out what I had done to warrant this look of hostility coming from him, when it finally occurred to me that while he was looking in my direction it wasn't me he was looking at. I looked over at the recently vacant seat across from me to see James looking curiously back at me.

He smiled slightly at me before turning towards the Cullen table, almost as if he could sense the undercurrent of hostility coming from Edward, and then he winked at Edward before turning back at me.

My mouth opened slightly in shock, then I turned towards Edward just in time to see him start to stand up out of his seat, in obvious anger.

I don't know what would have happened next if Emmett hadn't been sitting next to him, paying attention as the situation unfurled.

As Edward reacted to James, and started to stand up, Emmett reached up and grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him forcefully back into his seat. Edward went to shake him off in obvious anger, but Emmett held tight, refusing to allow his younger brother the freedom to act on his anger.

Emmett leaned into Edward and said something in his ear, Edward violently shaking his head in response as he attempted for a second time to stand up. Emmett shoved him back in his seat, his size giving him an obvious advantage over Edward.

He leaned into Edward once again saying something in his ear. Edward answering heatedly in return. By this time Alice, who had been staring at Edward in shock, had finally got involved.

She put her hand on Edward's arm, talking to him quickly. I knew she was doing her best to calm him down and defuse the situation. Jasper spoke up next and I could tell that whatever he had said had finally reached Edward, because he sat back in his chair, releasing some of the tension from his body.

I had no idea what had just happened. I stared at their table for a minute just to make sure Edward was going to retain control and stay in his seat.

When I was sure that the danger had passed I looked around the cafeteria and was shocked to realize that for the most part the situation had gone unnoticed.

I looked back at James who was still smiling slightly at me. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was fully aware of what had just happened, though he had been looking at me through most of it.

"So Duchess, do I get an introduction yet, or are you gonna continue to keep me in the dark about your true identity?" he asked, acting as if nothing had just happened.

"What did you do?" I asked.

He looked confused for a second before asking, "What do you mean what did I do?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Whether his confusion was an act or real I had no patience for it right now.

"What did you do that would cause Edward to react like that?" I asked.

"Don't know what you're talking about," was his answer.

I narrowed my eyes at him, before saying "Then we're through here James."

He stared at me for a second, weighing his options, before leaning back and looking over again at Edward.

He looked back at me and answered, "Cullen and I have a history, you might say. We don't exactly like each other. Anything else you want to know about it you can get from him," he paused as he looked around the cafeteria, "or anyone else here at Forks High."

I stared at him. It wasn't exactly an answer, but it was more than I had expected to get out of him.

"Now Duchess, it's your turn. Why would Cullen react so violently to me sitting across from you? Are you two a thing? Do you have some kind of history together?" he asked.

"That's none of your business," I said.

"Neither was my history with Cullen yours, Duchess. But it's a turn for a turn. I answered yours, now it's your turn to answer mine. Why would he want to beat me to a pulp for sitting down across from you?" he asked.

I sighed in frustration before answering. "There's nothing between us. I'm friends with his sister and brother, but that's it. I don't know why he reacted like that, but I'm assuming it was solely from seeing you. I doubt I had anything to do with it as we only met about three weeks ago, and we've barely talked since then."

We stared at each other for a moment, each weighing what the other had said.

The other people at our table had mostly left us alone, but I could see that they were staring at us curiously. I doubted we'd have much more time before they involved themselves in the conversation.

"hmmmmm," James said. "It looks like we're both meant to walk away from this conversation with more questions than answers."

He turned then to smile at the rest of the table, greeting everyone he knew. Again, I wondered what his history was. Obviously he had gone here to school long enough to be comfortable with everyone. Beyond that, I hadn't a clue about him.

I was frustrated. I felt like I had been thrown into a situation where I needed everything at my disposal to navigate through safely, and yet I had none of the information I needed.

I looked back over at the Cullen table to find Edward staring at me, or James, I wasn't sure at this point which of us was provoking his ire.

I wanted to bang my head against the table in frustration, but instead I ate my lunch, which had been wholly ignored up until this point. I had to rush to finish it before the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

I was getting ready to stand up and walk out of the cafeteria when I felt a hand reach out and restrain me. I stopped and looked up at James, who had grabbed my arm.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Fourth time's the charm Duchess. I'm not giving up, and I'm not letting you go, without a proper introduction," he said.

I stared at him while I debated. I was more than a little tempted to not give in to him. In the end though I knew it would be easier to just introduce myself, and hopefully at that point I'd become less interesting to him.

"Bella Swan," I said.

"Now was that so hard?" he asked as he released my arm.

I rolled my eyes and stood up and walked away from him, glad to be doing so.

Somehow I doubted that I had become less interesting to him now that I'd introduced myself.

I was pretty sure that my life had just become a lot more frustrating. For whatever reason I had caught James's attention, even though that was the last thing I had wanted to do.

As I walked out of the cafeteria towards Biology I wondered what would happen now. Would Edward say something to me about what had happened at lunch? Would James back off and leave me alone? Would I ever find out what the hell was going on?

As I walked into Biology I determined that Alice and I would have a nice long talk today after school. Someone was going to give me answers damn it, and I knew she was probably my best hope.

Why did it seem like no matter what I did here at Forks High I seemed to attract trouble?

I heaved a long suffering sigh as I took my seat, wondering which version of Edward would end up walking through the Biology door.

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_Sooooo, whatdidya think? lol_

_Alice is up next chapter. Maybe we'll finally find out some answers. Wouldn't that be nice?_

_If you like my story, spread the word! I'd be eternally greatful. ;o) _

_Thanks everyone!  
_


	15. Chapter 15

**Twilight and all the wonderful lovely characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, never me.**

**A/N:**

_Must place a warning here, there's some language later on in this chapter, particularly the f-word. The situation warrants it, so I'm not gonna apologize. ;op_ _I wish I could tell you that you could skip this chapter if you're not into the f-word being thrown around, but if you did you'd be lost latter on, so you're gonna just have to suck it up. Sorry._

_This is one of those places where I repeated a scene, but I figured you all wouldn't mind as it was the cafeteria scene and I know that I at least was curious as to what was happening over at the other table, so I figured you all would be too. Hope I was right. ;o)_

_As usual, thank you to everyone who is reading this and a huge thank you to all my lovely reviewers, who make my day! Especially those of you who take the time to review every chapter, you all are wonderful! _

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's not my typical Alice tone, but then this wasn't a typical situation. I tried to capture her as much as possible while still giving you what you needed to know. Hopefully I succeeded. _

_Okay, I'm sure my going on and on here is a bit annoying, so without further ado...  
_

**Alice**

I knew this was going to be a tough day for Edward, and I knew he was going to need some support. It wouldn't have been so bad if he was normal Edward, but he wasn't, he was still post-Bella Edward, a moodier self-pitying version of his old self. I wish he would just admit already that shoving her away hadn't worked _at all._

As I sat in the back seat of the car I closed my eyes, trying to force out a vision. I hadn't had one since Bella had come to school, but hadn't noticed until just this morning that I was vision free lately.

Now however, when I desperately wanted them to return I was drawing a blank. What the hell? These damn visions were as useless as a wonder bra in a strip joint.

I groaned in frustration and rested my head against Jasper's shoulder. He reached over and grabbed my hand, and I watched as our fingers became entwined.

To calm myself I thought of all the reasons why I loved this man, all the ways that he completed me. I leaned further into him, enjoying the feel of his body next to mine. Before I could stop myself I turned a little and leaned into his neck, enjoying his scent. I opened my mouth slightly and grazed his neck with my teeth, my mind no longer in control.

I could feel Jasper's breathing change slightly as my teeth made contact with his skin. I chuckled softly as I felt his hand tighten around mine, and I knew he was struggling to stay in control.

Before I could continue I was interrupted by the sound of Edwards voice.

"Alice," he ground out through clenched teeth.

I looked up and saw in the rearview mirror the pained expression on his face. Apparently I hadn't done a good enough job on censoring my thoughts. Oops. I'd have to apologize to Edward later.

I sighed and shifted away from Jasper a little, who was busy taking deep breaths and trying to remember old baseball games or some other nonsense in an attempt to calm himself I'm sure. It must be tough being a boy sometimes.

I looked out the window and thought about the very person I had been trying to not think about since yesterday, James Black.

I was mad at myself for not seeing his return in advance, and I was mad at him for coming back. I didn't think we'd be forced to deal with him at Forks High again, but I should have known better, he never made things easy for anyone. I wondered how he got his dad to allow him back.

James and Edward had once been close, they had been inseparable at one time actually. James was the first friend Edward had made upon our move here and the two became as thick as thieves almost instantly.

I had felt extremely lucky in Edward's choice of friend as James seemed to enjoy hanging out with me also, which worked for me as I wasn't happy when separated from Edward then. For years the three of us were a unit.

When Emmett joined our family our threesome had become a foursome. I noticed though that Emmett didn't seem as enthused about James as Edward and I were. I chalked it up to him entering our group later, after it had already formed, and didn't think much of it.

It didn't take long though before I started to notice that James was changing. He had always had issues with anger, part of which I think came from his home life. His mother had died when he was a baby, and his father was a cold and calculating man, I wasn't sure if he even cared about James beyond how his behavior impacted on the family name. James spent a lot of time at our house, and as little as possible at his own.

Edward was the last to notice the change in James's behavior. Looking back I tend to think that he choose not to see the change, how else could Edward of all people fail to notice something like that? He was blind because it was his friend, and he didn't want to see.

James started acting out. First in little ways, getting in trouble in school, picking on kids, things like that. Before long though it had escalated and he would skip school for a week at a time, and was caught stealing, things like that.

By the time we reached high school our friendship had become strained. As much as we wanted to be there for him we weren't willing to get pulled into his downward spiral. Neither of us were willing to disappoint Esme and Carlisle like that, and Emmett by then had already given up on James.

We started hanging out with James less and less, and James had started resenting us more and more. He started lashing out at us at school, I'm sure hurt by our perceived rejection.

Before long he had picked up a new set of friends, a bunch of trouble-makers who had either dropped out of school or had already somehow graduated. That was when the trouble really started.

He never got caught, but we knew he had taken to breaking the law more and more. Stealing, and not just little things here and there, but big-ticket electronic items, stuff like that. I'm pretty sure he had broken into and robbed at least one house, though I'd never know for sure.

Edward and I were forced to watch as our friend spiraled out of control. Neither of us had a clue how to stop him, how to save him from myself.

I knew though that it hurt Edward more than it hurt me. By this time I had Jasper, who while couldn't save me from having to watch my friend self-destruct at least softened the blow a little. Edward however had no one.

It finally ended in a big explosion. James showed up at our house one day and he and Edward had a huge fight. James said such hateful things to Edward, about Edward, about me, about our family. I watched from the stairs, frozen halfway down, as the person I had once loved like a brother tore apart years of friendship with his words.

When he was done I was in tears, and I watched as Edward punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor. James stood up, wiping blood from his mouth onto his sleeve, looked accusingly at the both of us and then walked out the front door. To this day Edward and I have never discussed the things that were said that day.

The next day Edward's car was stolen from the parking lot. Two days later it showed up on the back of a tow truck. The police found it half submerged in a lake a little ways out of town. The car had obviously undergone a beating before being submerged, as it was dented all to hell and the windows were smashed out. There was no proof, but we knew who was responsible.

The next day a cherry bomb was set-off in Edward's locker. It was obvious he had had no immediate plans to stop. Carlisle and Esme went in to talk to our principle, who called in Mr. Black for a conference. Then Edward and I watched as James was escorted out of the school by his dad, which was the last either of us had seen of him.

Until now apparently. We thought he had been expelled, but I found out his dad had smoothed things over, and pulled him out of school before he had the chance to be expelled. Apparently he's been in military school since then, and I had no idea what he was doing back here now.

I was nervous. I didn't know what would happen today, but I was sure it wouldn't be good.

Once at school Jaz and I went off to find Bella, and give her a quick explanation of what was going on, and why we were all acting so weird. When we got to her locker though it was to find she'd already gone, which was weird because we always tried to meet-up before class. I saw the truck in the parking lot so I knew she was here somewhere.

I shrugged it off and figured we'd see her at lunch. Jaz and I had planned on sitting with Edward again today, just to make sure everything went okay, but I would try to jump over the sit with Bella for a little bit to bring her up to speed. The bell was about to ring so Jaz and I headed off to class, and I silently sent a wish out that today would go smoothly.

*******************************************************

As usual I was the first one into lunch. I sat down at our table and waited for the rest of the crew.

I saw Bella walk into the cafeteria and give me a little smile and a wave. I waved back, and reminded myself I'd have to get over to her and explain what was going on. She was probably confused and frustrated by all of our stressing, having no idea what it was over.

Jasper and Rose, then Edward and Emmett showed up and sat down. The atmosphere definitely tense as we all looked each other over. I finally turned to Edward, figuring I'd start there.

"Seen him yet?" I asked.

"Nope, you?" he asked in return.

I shook my head no and then looked around at the others, getting nothing but negatives in return.

Hmmm, well this was interesting. I was sure that by now at least one of us would have seen him around the school. I wondered if perhaps he hadn't shown up?

I had almost allowed myself to relax when I felt Edward tense up beside me. I looked over at him to see him staring towards Bella's table and I managed to think to myself _'Please, anything but that' _before I turned, with a sense of dread, in time to see James sit himself down across from Bella.

I turned back to Edward, who was staring over at James with more hatred than I had ever seen on his face, while I waited for his reaction, for once unsure of how to reach him.

I knew his feelings for Bella were still as strong as ever, even though he was still denying them, and I could only imagine what it would do to him seeing James for the first time in a year, watching as he calmly sat himself down across from Bella as if he belonged there. Part of me knew to be afraid for James right now, the other part too busy trying to figure out how to fix this.

I looked over at Bella and James, waiting to see what would happen next, just in time to see James look at Edward dead-on, gauge his reaction, and then wink at him before turning back to Bella.

I felt as Edward started to stand up next to me, and knew instinctively that in this moment Edward was very lethal, and that James should be afraid. Luckily for everyone Emmett had the presence of mind to grab Edward by the shoulder and slam him back into his seat. Edward tried to pull out of Emmett's grasp, but I knew Emmett had anticipated that, and held on tight.

Emmett leaned into Edward a little, trying to penetrate through his angry haze and calm him down a little.

"Edward, you need to listen to me. You're in the middle of the cafeteria, this is not the place for this. Bella is fine, nothing is going to happen to her, and I know her enough by now to know that she can handle her own," he said.

Edward was almost violently shaking his head though, not wanting any part of Emmett's reassurances. Again he tried to stand up, I was assuming to go after James. Again Emmett slammed him into his seat. I have never been more grateful for my oldest brother's size and strength as I was in that moment. Anyone weaker would not have been able to restrain Edward in that moment.

"Edward, _relax_. You won't do her any good if you go over there and beat him to a bloody pulp and get yourself expelled from school. Then she'll probably feel bad for him and you won't be here to save her," he tried again.

"She doesn't know him, she doesn't know what he's capable of, somebody needs to protect her," Edward snarled at Emmett.

His words finally reached me, releasing me from the shock that had kept me frozen in my place. I reached out and put my hand on Edward's arm, knowing our connection would break through to him, even if my words couldn't.

"Edward, nothing is going to happen to her in the span of one lunch. She's not stupid, she won't fall for anything James throws at her. You need to calm down and trust her to handle it," I said.

Jasper cut in next saying, "You have biology with her next, obviously she'll be okay there, then she only has one more class until the end of the day, where Alice and I will meet up with her and head back to her place. We'll explain everything to her, and make sure that she knows who the real James is, but Edward, we won't be able to do any of this if you go over there and do something that will get yourself expelled."

It worked. Edward finally leaned back in his seat and relaxed, apparently having a plan laid out in front of him was what he had needed to calm himself down.

I looked over at Bella's table to see that she had registered everything that had happened, and I knew that while she still didn't know what was going on she knew enough now to be wary of James. She was a smart kid, she would know that Edward's reaction meant something was off.

I looked back over at my brother, trying to decide how to proceed. It was obvious he wouldn't be able to deny his feelings for Bella much longer, not after today's little display.

However he might try to rationalize this later I knew that his reaction wasn't to James, but to James's setting his sights on Bella, which clearly he had.

I wondered about that. Could it have been just a coincidence that James had honed in on Bella of all people, or had he somehow figured out Edward's attraction to her?

It had to be a coincidence, at least until he sat down across from her and saw for himself Edward's reaction. Bella might not understand that she was the catalyst here, but I knew James wouldn't miss something like that.

Which meant that Bella in her own right had somehow caught James's attention. I was sure that Edward's reaction had just upped the anti, and now James would go after her with everything he had.

This wasn't going to end well.

I looked over at Edward to see that he was completely ignoring his lunch and staring at Bella and James, unwilling to take his eyes off of them for a second.

Even knowing his attraction to her and his history with James I was surprised by Edward's reaction. I wondered, not for the first time, if something more had happened between him and James that he had never told me.

I knew though that it would be pointless asking. If there was something he wasn't telling me there was a reason he wasn't telling me. The two of us weren't known for keeping secrets from each other.

I closed my eyes in frustration and again tried to will a vision to happen. Again though, nothing. Whatever was going to happen, we would have to navigate through it blindly.

We sat there through lunch, picking at our food, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I wondered if this was Bella's first interaction with James or if they had met earlier in the day. It seemed like a good possibility, and Bella, unaware of James's background, would have had no reason to avoid him.

I cursed our luck that James would manage to set his sights on Bella before any of us had had the chance to give her any kind of warning. I felt partly responsible for the situation as I was Bella's closest friend. It should have been me warning her about him, but I had felt the need to be close to Edward, to protect him as much as possible from James's return.

Damn James! Why couldn't he have just stayed away? Why did he have to come here and screw with our lives?

Finally the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. I was about to stand up to go when I looked over and noticed Emmett shake his head slightly, and pull Edward back into his seat when he tried to rise.

It seemed Emmett wanted to take no chances, and had decided we would remain seated until James had left the cafeteria.

I saw Edward tense up again and then say, "I'm going to kill that motherfucker."

Luckily Emmett was ready for it and kept Edward firmly in his seat. I looked over to see what had provoked this last outburst, just in time to see James restrain Bella by grabbing her arm.

Bella looked back at James calmly, completely nonplussed it seemed, and the two exchanged words. I could see her debating something and then I watched as she gave in to whatever it was James was asking her for.

I watched as he released her arm and let her get up and leave the cafeteria. Then I watched as he turned towards my brother and lightly rubbed his tongue over his lips, as if signaling that he saw something delicious looking that he was about to go chase after, then watched as he winked at my brother getting up and walking out of the cafeteria.

I was so busy watching this play out in front of me that I had stopped paying attention to Edward's reactions. That didn't last long though as I could hear sounds of a struggle next to me and turned to see Edward trying to force his way out of Emmett's grip.

"Get the _fuck_ off of me Emmett. I don't fucking care if it's going to get me expelled I am going to fucking kick his ass. Fucking let go! If you don't fucking let go of me I swear I will break your fucking arm. You didn't fucking hear him Emmett, you didn't hear what was running through his head just now. If you did you wouldn't be trying to fucking stop me from beating the fucker," he ranted.

Emmett meanwhile held securely onto Edward until James was out of sight.

"Edward, he's gone. It's over dude, relax," Em answered.

Edward yanked himself out of Emmett's grip.

"We may have gotten through lunch Emmett, but I heard his fucking thoughts. This is far from being fucking over," he said as he got up and walked away from us, his anger evident in the way he carried himself.

I knew that he was right. This was far from being over. James was holding all of the cards right now, and we would have to do something about that. I thought of my new friend and I knew that there was no way that he was going to win this round. We had too much at stake this time.

**A/N:**

_So, what did you think? How do you feel about James now? Was his back story enough for you? There's still a little more to come, but not much. I wanted Alice to be the one to relate his story to us, I thought she'd be the best voice for it._

_Anyway, let me know what you thought, I love to hear from you all! I'm sure you probably know that by now though. ;o)_

_Next up will be Edward! Oooohhhh, and Biology. Yay! Fun stuff. Who's excited to hear his take on things? I am! Can't wait. _

_Thanks everyone!!!_


	16. Chapter 16

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight**

**A/N:**

_Okay, here's the next chapter. There seems to be a lot of anticipation for this one, and I hope it lives up to it. *keeps fingers crossed*_

_Before I go any farther I need to issue a warning. This chapter is definitely rated MATURE. Not just for the cursing, which has showed up here and there during other chapters as well, but towards the end there is, well I can't tell you about it obviously, but I just need you to know that I would rate this at a higher maturity level than what I've covered in previous chapters. So, you've been warned. There's a little bit that is upsetting, and I'm sorry. If I could have come up with another way, I would have._

_Now that bit is out of the way. Please, drop me a line or two to tell me what you thought of this chapter. It was a tough one to write and I wanted to get it just right. Let me know what you think of the results. _

_As always, thanks to everyone who reads this, and a BIG thank you to those of you who review. You are B E A U-tiful! ;o)_

_*****************************************  
_

**Edward**

What the fuck? What the FUCK!

Why the fuck did he have to set his sites on Isabella Swan of all people?

I was going to fucking kill him. I didn't see a way around it. James, being fucking James, will end up going after her and he'll hurt her and then I will fucking kill him.

Fuck me. Why did he have to come back now? What the fuck. I thought he was gone from my life, and yet here he was again.

When I found out yesterday that James the-mother-fucker Black was coming back to school I was pissed off, to say the least. But I hadn't even considered that once back he would set his sites on Isabella.

How could I not have fucking thought of that?

Because I was a fucking idiot that's why. Of course she would immediately catch his attention; she was smart, witty, beautiful, and not easily swayed by charm. She'd present the perfect challenge for him, and she was the only one at Forks High who hadn't been around last time to watch him self-destruct.

I was so fucking worried about myself, and what his presence here would mean for me that I had left her completely exposed, perfect for him to pounce on.

I was so fucking stupid.

Fuck.

I didn't know who I was more mad at right now, myself, or James. On second thought, definitely that mother fucker.

I had really fucked up here. Not only did Isabella not know anything about James, and therefore not know to stay away from him, but I had placed myself in a position where she probably wouldn't want to listen to my warnings. Why hadn't someone punched me in the fucking face weeks ago? Knocked some sense into me back when it could have done some good.

I had to hope for two things at this point. First, I had to hope that she hadn't already fallen for his charms, and I knew the mother fucker could be charming when he wanted to be. Second, I had to hope that she would listen to me, or if not that, then at the very least listen to Alice.

If not, well then James was going to have to die. Simple as that.

I tried to compose myself before walking through the door and into Biology. I had no idea at this point what I would say to her, but I knew I had to say something.

The time for running away from her was now a thing of the past, it probably should have ended weeks ago, but I could be a stubborn dick when I put my mind to it. I couldn't just sit idly by now and watch him hunt her down and do god knows what with her. I was going to have to throw myself in front of her, and I knew that would be a lot easier if she would actually let me do so.

Which brought me to my current predicament. I had spent the past weeks completely ignoring her, after acting like the worst asshole ever to her. No way was she going to just accept this total one-eighty, but I didn't know what else to do.

I knew it helped that I would have Alice on my side. Alice would want to protect Bella as much as I would, and she'd have a lot more influence over her right now. I knew that if I didn't succeed now, Alice would bring up the rear, and between the two of us, and the rest of our family, we would make Bella safe.

We would make sure she stayed safe or I would go after James. I would fucking hunt the hunter.

************************************

I headed into Biology not ,unfortunately, any calmer, but at this point I had serious doubts that a few minutes would be enough to compose myself and I wanted to use the time I had to try to talk to Bella.

She was sitting at our shared lab table when I walked in, and as I passed her to sit in my seat I noticed her doodling in her notebook, which she did when she needed to think. She didn't bother to look up when I sat next to her, but then she was used to us ignoring each other, so I wasn't surprised.

I looked at her and determined that I would do this in a calm and rational manner, then I cleared my throat to get her attention. She looked over at me, surprise clearly visible on her face.

"You need to stay the hell away from James," I spit out.

Well fuck me. So much for calm and rational. That wasn't what I had intended at all. I watched her eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in anger. Great. Excellent way to start, Edward.

I don't know what would have happened next if I hadn't groaned in absolute frustration and smacked myself in the forehead, which seemed to catch her off guard. She probably thought I was losing my mind.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out like that. I'm just fucking tense right now. Excuse my language. Fuck. This isn't my day," I said.

Clearly I needed someone to fucking duct tape my mouth shut right now as I seemed to have lost all control over what was escaping from it.

"Okay, look, let me start this over again. James is…oh mother fucker. You have _got _to be kidding me," I ground out.

Just as I was starting to explain the situation to Bella, in what I was sure would have proven to be a most rational manner, the lecture started, and I had to stop before I got anything out.

"Later, ok?" I asked, hoping she would give me a second chance at this.

She only paused for a second before shaking her head yes, allowing me to breathe a little sigh of relief. At least she was willing to listen to me, if nothing else I thought that was a starting point.

It felt like the lecture droned on forever. I wasn't paying even the slightest bit of attention to it, too busy thinking everything over.

Finally, after what seemed like weeks instead of just one hour, the bell rang and I was able to make my third attempt at talking to Bella.

"Hey," I said to her. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier, but I'm a little stressed out and it's apparently effecting my speaking abilities."

"Edward, we don't have a lot of time here so why don't you just get to the point," she cut in.

Like it always did when I heard her voice, my traitorous mind shut itself off from reality for a minute while it went off on a little Bella inspired fantasy, picturing all the things I would do to her if I only allowed myself. This was something that, no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to stop. As much as I tried, and I had tried very much, I could not keep my body from reacting when it heard the sound of her voice. Over the past three weeks it had driven me almost out of my mind.

We didn't have the time for that now though, and I firmly reigned my mind, and body, back in.

As we gathered our books I started talking, trying to do better then I had on my last attempt at this.

"All right look, you just need to be careful around that guy James. I know him, probably better than anyone else, and trust me when I say he's trouble. Stay away from him, it's for your own good. He's nothing but an asshole," I warned.

"Yeah, thanks, but I can take care of myself," she answered.

"I don't think you can, not when it comes to him anyway. Just stay away from him Bella," I said.

Woops. I could see that I had pissed her off. I wasn't being smart about this. Before I could backtrack she jumped in.

"You have seriously got to be kidding me right now. Where do you get off warning me away from anyone? What do you care anyway? You've done nothing but freak out on me and then ignore me for three weeks. James at least hasn't treated me like a complete dick head. God, that's ironic, you warning me away from someone. What could he possibly do to me Edward that would be worse than how you've treated me?" she asked.

And though I could have come up with a thousand things that James could do to her that would be far worse than anything I've done, I didn't. Because I knew she was right, I had been an asshole, and treated her like shit, because I was afraid of her and what she would mean for me and the life I had just picked out for myself. I had acted like a selfish bastard, and now I wanted to swoop in and save her, and I expected her to let me, and to appreciate me for it.

I was a cad, and I knew I had gone about this wrong.

"You're right, and I'm sorry. For everything. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, I had my reasons, but I'm not going to try to excuse my behavior. I'm sorry for this, for jumping all over you like this about James, it's just, I know what he's capable of. I don't expect you to listen to me, but please, at least talk to Alice and get the full story from her," I pleaded, trying to be quick as we were almost at the Gym, which was her last class.

"I'm not an idiot Edward. I had already planned on getting his story from Alice. And it's not like I'm going to fall in love with James or something ridiculous like that, I just met the guy for frig's sake. If you had actually taken the time to get to know me a little you would know all of this. I'm sorry you and James have some kind of history, but it doesn't have anything to do with me. Don't expect me to avoid him because of your past with him," she said.

My stomach dropped a little at the mention of James and the word love in the same sentence. I would kill the mother fucker before I ever allowed that to happen. That asshole wouldn't get close enough to her for something like that to happen. I wasn't going to make myself think about it as it wasn't even a possibility.

We had reached the girls locker room by now, which meant I could go no further with her. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. When I opened my eyes to look at her it was to see her looking back at me with an annoyed expression on her face. I needed to just end this conversation before I dug myself in any deeper.

"Just talk to Alice today, she'll meet you after school," I said, and then turned and walked away before I gave myself another chance to shove my foot in my mouth.

************************************

I went off to hunt down Alice next. I knew the bell had just rang and that I should be in class, but I wanted to get this straightened out before Alice met up with Bella.

I found her classroom and stood outside the door, out of view of her teacher, until I got her attention. She looked over at me and I signaled that I needed to talk to her, and I saw her acknowledge me and then raise her hand.

I waited for her to join me outside the classroom, not bothering to listen to the excuse she made to get out of class. Alice was good at stuff like this, she'd have no problem coming up with something.

She opened the door and joined me, her books in hand. Good, she obviously wasn't expected back.

"What's up, brother mine?" she asked as she looked me over, trying to get a feel for what was going on.

"Let's go sit in the car and talk, I want to talk over some things with you," I said.

She nodded her head and followed me towards the parking lot in silence, willing to have patience with me for the moment.

Once in the car I put some music on quietly, opting for Chopin, in the hopes that it would help me to relax a little.

"So what's up Edward? How'd Biology go?" she asked.

"Better than could be expected, but not great. I really fucked up Alice," I explained.

"Yeah, I could have told you that," she said.

"She needs to know about James, and she needs it to come from you, as she won't listen to me right now. You need to make her understand that he's dangerous Alice. I heard his thoughts, he was interested in her anyway, but after my fucking freak-out in the cafeteria he's decided to use her to fuck with me while having some fun with her at the same time," I explained.

"Edward, is there something I'm missing here? What makes him so dangerous? I know he's turned into an asshole and gets into trouble and all, but why do you think he'll hurt her? He used to be decent, he must still be decent on some level," she said.

I knew it was time that I explained the James I knew to Alice. I had put it off for so long because I knew how much she used to care about him. We both had at one point, but I knew him for what he was now. Alice just thought he had become a trouble maker, but that wasn't the whole story.

"You remember that day when he came to our house and we fought?" I asked.

She shook her head yes, and I knew that like me she'd probably never forget that day, it was probably burned into her memory.

"Okay, wait, let me start before that. Do you know James knows about our little talents?" I asked.

"No. No one outside our family knows," she said.

"James does. He figured it out one day, I don't know how, and asked me about it. I couldn't deny it to him, he was my best friend, and I wanted someone outside of our family to know," I said.

"Oh Edward, why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I didn't want you to worry about it, and if it would change his opinion of us or whether he would tell others, and I was ashamed that I wanted someone besides our family to know. It felt like it was a betrayal to you," I explained.

"Anyway, James knew, and he was able to keep me out of his head. I don't know how, maybe just focusing continuously on it, but I very rarely had access to his thoughts. It's not like I spent a lot of time trying, I didn't want to read his thoughts, especially if he didn't want me to," I continued.

"So a couple of days before our fight I skipped school and went over to his house to talk to him. I knew he was fucking up his life, and I thought I'd be able to reach him and help him to get back on track. I knew it was stupid, but I felt like I owed it to him to try, for all of our years of friendship. I saw his car in the driveway and knew he was there, but he wasn't answering the door. I don't know what made me go around back to look for him, but that's where I found him," I paused to collect my thoughts, and to try to calm myself.

It was hard for me to think about this again, yet alone have to be the one to tell Alice about it. I avoided it for so long because I thought he was gone, and it wouldn't matter whether I told her about it or not.

"I found him back there beating a sack with a baseball bat. Just pounding away at it. I was so shocked by the violence in his actions that I honed in on his thoughts before I knew what I was doing. He didn't realize I was standing there, and so hadn't blocked his thoughts from me. Alice, he had the neighbors dog in there. He was beating it to death, and he was getting pleasure from it. I knew then why he was so careful to block me out of his mind, because I knew how twisted his thoughts had become. Never in my life have I heard anything so disturbing."

"I tackled him and grabbed the bat out of his hands. I thought for a minute that he was going to attack me, but he calmed down instead. I looked in the sack, but it was too late to save the dog. I flipped out on him, just lost it on him, and walked off. I didn't know what to do. I should have told someone about it, but he was our friend Alice, and I thought maybe it was just a one time thing. We knew he fought to keep control of his temper, and I just rationalized that maybe this one time it had gotten too much for him."

"I avoided him over the next few days, I just needed to be away from him while I thought things through. A couple of days later he showed up at our house and you saw what happened then. I guess he decided to end our friendship before I could. A few days after that he was gone, and I rationalized that it was for the best, and that he wasn't my responsibility anymore," I explained.

When I was done talking the car was quiet, and I looked over at Alice to see a tear run down her cheek.

"Oh Edward, you should have told me about it. You shouldn't have had to carry that by yourself. And you should have let someone know. That's seriously messed up, and I'm sure James needs help. Someone should know how far he's gone over the edge Edward, we should tell someone," she said.

"And what will we say Alice? That a year ago I saw him beat a dog to death and heard what he was thinking at the time? That will go over real well. He'll just deny the whole thing," I said.

"It's too late now, but we can keep an eye on him, watch to see if he screws up again. In the meantime though, we need to make sure Bella stays safe. You see why I want to keep her away from him? He'll have no problems fucking with her if it helps him get what he wants, and I know he wants to hurt me, otherwise, he wouldn't have let me hear his thoughts today at lunch. He was baiting me, playing with me. For whatever reasons he's here to fuck with me, maybe because I'm the only one who knows what he truly is," I explained.

Alice sighed loudly. I knew I'd just given her a lot to take in, and I knew it would take some time before she was able to adjust to this new version of James. If I had thought he would come back to Forks High I would have told her before this, but I truly thought he was gone from here for good.

"Bella's not dumb, Edward. She won't fall for his tricks easily, but I'll make sure she knows to stay away from him, and we'll be here to keep an eye on the situation. Meanwhile, you need to get your shit together and stop playing games. Decide once and for all what Bella means to you, because it's obvious you haven't managed to push her out of your life like you had planned. Figure out what you want, and what role Bella plays in those wants, and Edward? Do it fast, otherwise it might be too late for you," she said.

I knew she was right. I knew that I needed to decide once and for all what I wanted, and I knew I needed to do it soon.

After that we sat there in my car, listening to music, waiting for school to end so that Alice could go meet up with Bella.

I knew I had a lot of thinking to do, and I knew that my decisions would probably end up changing my life. As I sat there I found myself fervently wishing that whatever I decided, that it wasn't already too late for me, because I knew I would never forgive myself if I realized that I had screwed up my chances with the only girl I had ever loved…

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**A/N:**

_Well, there you have it. The full story is finally out on James now. Glad that's done. So, we all hate James obviously, but what else did you think?_

_Starting next chapter I'm going to be trying something new here at the end, and idea I'm "borrowing" from a friend of a friend (thanks Toxicbluecrayon!!!) lol. At the end of each chapter I'll be doing a Q&A session, and answer any of the questions or comments that catch my attention in the review section. So, if you have any questions for me, now's the time to throw them out there! Maybe they'll show up at the end of the next chapter._

_All right crew. Bella says she'll chat with you next time! Thanks!!!_

_Peace out cub scouts!  
_


	17. Chapter 17

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

_Well, as promised, here's the update. It was either going to be a really long one or a short one, and as I wanted to get it up today I opted for short. It's okay, it's probably better this way._

_So, as some of you probably already have noticed from my little A/N section, I'm can be a bit weird, lol. I don't have a filter in my brain for online interactions like I do in real life, so I tend to write whatever I'm thinking, without thinking. So, you get to see my little quirks come through. This happens with my PM's too. I don't have a lot of time online, so I don't manage to get to all of my reviewers to thank them, but occasionally one will catch my attention and I'll send out a PM in return. If you're one of the few to have gotten a PM from me you probably know what I'm talking about lol. Anyway, I just wanted to say that you all can feel free to totally ignore me, whether in my A/N section, or in PM's you might have recieved. It's just my lack of a filter! ;op_

_On to business. As usual, thank you for reading my story! And a huge thanks to everyone who takes time to review, and especially those who keep coming back chapter after chapter!_

_I changed the rating on this story from T to M. I didn't know when I first rated it where I was going to take it, andI just kind of decided it probably needed the higher rating, just to be on the safe side. I just thought I should make you aware. _

_Okay, guess that's it! Sorry for those of you who thought you were getting a chapter earlier, and instead got Q&A! _

_*********************************  
_

**Bella**

I headed into the Gym locker room more annoyed than I could remember being in a long_, __long_, time.

Who the hell did Edward think he was anyway? He'd acted like a complete dick. He flipped out on me for no reason and then completely ignored me for weeks, like I was some kind of trash to be tossed away.

What an asshole.

And then he had the nerve to try to warn me away from James, because James would hurt me? What the hell did he think he had been doing these past weeks? That was like some kind of panther trying to warn me to beware of the wolf, because the wolf could be dangerous.

Well, they were both dangerous! I should avoid both of them! It would probably save me from getting gray hairs early or something.

Men were complete idiots sometimes, I swear.

And I was going to kill Alice the next time I saw her! She was supposed to be my best friend, she should be the one to warn me when everyone was about to go bat-shit crazy on me. The whole lot of them were raving lunatics, I swear. What were best friends for if not to say, 'Oh yeah, beware of the kitties, their claws are sharp', before throwing you into the lions den?

Why the hell did I keep referring to animals?

Apparently, their lunacy was contagious, because clearly I was losing my mind now too. I seriously needed to reevaluate the people I hung around with.

I changed real fast into my uniform, and headed out into the Gym, still annoyed with Edward, Alice, and life in general.

Of course, the first person I would see would be James.

Could I _not _catch a freaking break today? What the hell.

I rolled my eyes in aggravation, I was so not in the mood to deal with him right now, and went and sat on the bleachers, waiting for class to start.

It would have been too much at that point to hope that James would take the hint and keep his distance. Who _was_ this guy anyway, my own personal shadow?

"Hello again, Duchess," he said.

"James, what was the point of introducing myself to you if you were only going to continue to call me Duchess?" I asked.

He leaned into me before he answered, "Because now, when I'm laying around tonight, imagining all the wicked things I would do to you, I have a name to put to the face."

I actually snorted at that. Can I call them or what? Total player.

"Yeah, about that. Can we be real here for a minute James?" I asked him.

He nodded his head, but looked wary none-the-less.

"I'm not into the whole player thing, so you can drop it. Whatever you want from me, you're not going to get it. Whatever you're looking for here? You need to look somewhere else for it, because I'm not interested in anything but friends, and not the friends with benefits kind either. I'm not a game, or a toy, and I have absolutely no interest in being played. If you want to be a friend, we'll talk, but if you're after anything else, you need to just walk away now," I said.

He was quiet next to me for a while. I looked over at him to see he was looking me over as if he trying to come to a decision. He finally nodded his head in agreement, apparently decision reached.

"Swan, I'd love to be friends with you, if that's what you're offering," he said, as he held out his hand for me to shake.

I looked at him skeptically before reaching out and shaking his hand. If he was willing to drop the player attitude, and stop trying to pick me up for frick's sake, then I was willing to give friendship a try.

"Okay, but I'm enacting a trial period here. We'll see how things go and reevaluate in a few days. Deal?" I asked.

"Deal," he answered, "I promise to be on my best behavior."

Somehow I doubted that, but only time would tell.

Our teacher blew the whistle for class to start and we were giving options of which activity we could participate in. I opted for the very tame, boring, but safe, half-a-mile walk. I figured if I got into klutz mode I'd be less likely to hurt someone else on a walk, whereas playing tennis or basketball could be dangerous to the people around me.

It looked as though James planned to accompany me on my walk. In the spirit of our new friendship I decided not to be annoyed by his accompanying me.

"So Swan, how did you end up friends with the Cullen's? Most of the school seems to give them a wide berth, but you said you were friends with Edward's brother and sister earlier, which brother and sister?" he asked.

"I'm actually friends with Alice, Jasper, and Emmett. I only said brother and sister because I know Alice, Em, and Edward don't really consider Jaz and Rosalie brother and sister, so much as family. I became friends with them when they needed a ride home one day. Why the interest in the Cullen's anyway?" I asked.

"Just curiosity. Trying to get the lay of the land, you could say," he said.

"So, why aren't you friends with Rosalie and Edward then?" he went on to ask.

"Well, Rosalie I think is starting to warm up to me a little, she doesn't seem to dislike me with the same intensity she used to. I've been told that this is just how she is with people she doesn't know. With Edward, I don't know, we just don't get along I guess. I can't really explain it, but we generally try to avoid each other," I explained.

"That's interesting," he said.

"Not really. There are plenty of people I don't go out of my way to hang around with here at Forks, so me not hanging out with one or two people in particular shouldn't be front page news or anything," I said.

"Hmm, I suppose that's true," he said.

"Okay, my turn. The only thing I know about you is that you used to go to Forks High, and that last year you went off to some private school or something, and now you're back. Are you willing to fill in any details?" I asked.

"There's not much to tell. Typical bad boy rebellion story really. Grew up here, came from good stock, started getting into trouble, disappointed daddy dearest, and was shipped off to military school. Who'd you hear private school from? I'm surprised anyone here would be that kind to me," he answered.

"I'm not sure who I heard it from, I've been getting bits and pieces about you pretty randomly actually. You said you started getting into trouble, what kind of trouble?" I asked.

"Well, I could try to play it off and say typical teenaged stuff, but as this is one of those damn towns where everyone knows everyone I won't even try it. Plus, I did promise to be on my best behavior here. I got mixed in with the wrong crowd, and started stealing and stuff. I was a real idiot that's for sure, and I'm glad my dad shipped me away when he did, otherwise I'd probably be in jail by now, or at the very least juvey. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask. You wouldn't be any chance related to Chief Swan, would you?" he asked.

"I'm his daughter actually," I said.

"No shit, really? Didn't know the chief had a daughter," he replied.

"I was raised by my mom, I spent a couple of weeks during the summer here, but that's really it. Most people around here didn't know about me I'm guessing, till I showed up a couple of weeks ago," I answered.

"Incidentally, you might not want to tell your dad that we're friends," he said.

"We're not friends yet, this is just a trial run, and I'm not going to lie to my dad. I don't have to tell him about you if he doesn't ask. If he asks, I'm going to be honest about it though," I answered.

"And if he told you he didn't want you hanging around with me?" he asked.

"That depends on whether you prove worthwhile or not. I'm not gonna go out of my way to defend you if I don't think you're worth defending. No offense. I'm just trying to be honest with you," I said.

"Fair enough. At least you're up front about it," he said.

We walked on in silence for a while, and I enjoyed the fact that it was a nice cloudy day for once, instead of a nice rainy day. I couldn't even remember what a sunny day felt like anymore, so I was happy to have cloudy.

"So, I figured I'd let you know that I was warned away from you," I said, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah? Why didn't you listen to the warning?" he asked.

"Who says I didn't? I'm willing to give you a chance, but as of right now I don't really trust you. You said you'd behave, and I appreciate that you have done so, so far, but that doesn't mean I trust you, or that I haven't taken heed to the warning. I get the feeling that you're playing some kind of game, and that I'm just one of the pawns," I said.

"Well Swan, looks like I'll just have to earn your trust," he replied.

We were pretty much back at the school by then, so had to wrap up our conversation, but before we went in he asked one more question.

"Who warned you about me anyway?" he asked.

"It doesn't really matter. You and I both know with the size of this town, and with your little rebellion last year, people will probably be lining up to warn me away from you. It's just a matter of time before I start getting it from all directions." I answered, not willing to tell him the warning had come from Edward.

"I don't doubt it. Do me a favor Swan?" he asked.

"Depends on what it is," I answered.

"Can you promise me that you'll come to me with any rumors you hear instead of just freaking out over them? You're probably the only chance at a real friend I have around this place right now and I would really hate it if I lost out on that before I had a chance to screw it up myself. This honesty policy has worked well for us so far, I wouldn't mind continuing it on if it meant we could become friends," he said.

"I can do that. If I hear any rumors about you that would change the way I thought of you I'll approach you with them first," I answered.

I kind of felt like it was only fair. I had been up front about my lack of trust in him and he took it really well, better than I would have thought, so I was willing to give him a chance to explain anything I might hear about him.

With that we said our bye's and headed off to our different locker rooms to get changed.

While getting back into my regular clothes I thought over everything I had learned about James. I still didn't trust him, but at the same time I didn't think him a complete ass either.

I guess the jury was still out on him, only time would tell if he would prove worthwhile, or if I was just wasting my time.

Once dressed I grabbed my stuff and headed to my locker, knowing that Alice would be waiting to meet up with me. If nothing else I was happy she was planning to come over and hang out. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her in like two days and I was just realizing how dependent I had become on talking with her everyday, and that I was actually missing her.

I was hoping she would bring me up to date on all the little bits and pieces I knew James had left out of the story. While I didn't think he lied I also didn't think he had told me the whole truth. I wanted to hear from Alice what had actually went down last year, so I'd have a better idea of who the real James was. I'd figure out how to proceed from there.

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**A/N:**

_So, there you go. Hope you liked it a little. I know, probably won't be your favorite chapter, but it was needed. I know what you're all waiting for, and we're getting there, promise. ;o)_

_Since we just had the Q&A section today we're going to skip it this chapter. We'll begin it next one!_

_As usual, love to hear from you. I love it when you guys actually break out a little and talk to me in the review section, those are always my favorite reviews as they usually make me laugh (my favorite thing to do), so don't be afraid to type whatever you're thinking. I'm definitely reading them!_

_Alice says to say she'll see you next chapter! Thanks all!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

_So, I was feeling a little burnt out, so took the weekend off. Hope you all didn't miss your updates too much! _

_Okay, have a favor to ask you all. I'd love to know how you found my story. Did you stumble on it by accident? Did a friend recommend it? Did you hear about it somewhere? If you're up to it, drop me a line in my review section letting me know how you found it. Don't feel like you have to go into details or anything, if you just want to say Accident, or Friend, that would be fine. I'm just trying to get an idea on where my traffic comes from. Thanks!_

_Next, keep an eye out for a new story I'll be posting soon (in the couple of days). If you like this one I think I think you'll like the new one even better. I'll let you know when the first two chapters go up. _

_Lastly, thanks again to everyone who reads this, and to all of you lovelies that review! You all make my day. :o) Thanks guys!_

_*****************************************************  
_

**Alice**

I climbed out of the car and went back into school to grab my stuff and meet up with Bella. Edward had opted to stay in the car to wait for Rose and Em, who'd head home with him. At least I thought they'd head home with him, I hadn't talked to either of them and though I doubted Rose would head over to Bella's house there was always the possibility that Em would want to.

I was having a hard time concealing my excitement on the way back into the school. I was pretty sure that Edward was only like seconds away from admitting his feelings for Bella.

It was true, we still had the whole James thing to deal with, and I was still feeling shocked and upset over what Edward had just told me about him, but at the same time I've been waiting for Edward to get to this point for weeks now, and I am not a patient person.

So, Edward was almost at the point of owning up to his feelings, which only left Bella to contend with. I was almost positive that she secretly liked Edward, and was just trying to squash her feelings for him because of the way he acted with her. Hopefully if Edward started to actively pursue her she would admit that she had feelings for him.

Then of course they would fall madly in love, and in a few years time they would get married and Bella would be my sister in addition to being my best friend, and then they'd have lots of little Eddie and Bellie babies and I'd be an aunt to all those beautiful little babies. Oh, I could not wait. Life was great.

Now all I had to do was help Edward admit his feelings for Bella, get Bella to realize hers, help them get together, keep James safely out of the picture, and pick out wedding dresses. No problem. I could definitely handle that.

Oh, maybe I could design a wedding dress for Bella. She totally deserved to be married in an original, and I was a wonderful designer, if I did say so myself, or I would be in a few years anyway. I was sure of it.

'_Stay focused, Alice_!' I mentally yelled at myself. Although it was never too early to start designing wedding dresses I was pretty sure I should be focusing on the current problems for the moment.

I grabbed my stuff and headed off to Bella's locker, where I was sure Jaz would know to meet up with me.

When I got to Bella's locker it was to find Bella, Jasper, Emmett _and _Rose there . Well, this was a new development. Rose never hung out by Bella's locker.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked.

Emmett was the one to answer, saying, "Rose and I thought we'd go hang out at Bella's for a bit, which means you and Jasper can catch a ride with Edward today."

I stared at him for a few seconds trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Rose wanted to hang out at Bella's house? What had I missed?

"No can do, Em. I need to talk to Bella, and it's going to take more then a few minutes, so Jasper and I need to head to her house. Can't you and Rose wait till tomorrow?" I asked.

"Not if you're discussing James we can't. I want to be there for that one too," he came back with.

"We only brought one car today though, and we promised Chief Swan that none of us would ride in the back of the truck again, so what do you propose we do?" I asked.

"We can get Edward to drive two of us over to her house," he said.

"And what, make him come back to pick us up when we're ready to head home? He won't be happy about being used as a taxi," I said.

Rose was the one to cut in, saying, "Why doesn't Bella just come back to our house today instead? That way no one has to make an extra trip anywhere,"

The rest of us turned back to Bella to see how she'd react to this suggestion. She had never said she didn't want to hang out at our house, but since that first day when Edward went crazy we all just assumed she'd be more comfortable if we went back to her house instead.

She grimaced before asking, "What about Edward? I'm sure he won't be overjoyed to have me hanging around."

"Edward's a big boy," Rose answered. "He'll deal with it, or he can relocate himself. There's no reason everyone else should go out of their way to accommodate his little temper tantrums."

"Plus, I don't think he'd really mind," I cut in.

Before Bella could reply Emmett wrapped his arm around her and said, "It's decided then. Come on Bells, let's get a move on. I'm hungry and we're wasting time."

Rose rolled her eyes at her not-so-better half and followed behind.

Emmett had really started to look at Bella like a younger sister, almost more so than he even did with me. Something about her seemed to bring out his protective side. I wasn't sure why he seemed to connect to her so quickly, but Jasper and I had thought it a funny development.

For her part, Bella seemed to connect just as quickly to Em. Maybe it was just her responding to him, maybe it was the fact that she was an only child and must wonder what it was like to have siblings, but for the most part she let him treat her like a younger sister. They even started bickering and goofing off like siblings. It was funny to watch.

Rose, new to our little group, had yet to really see the two of them in action. This would be interesting to watch.

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Out in the parking lot Emmett and Rose headed off to Edward's car, to explain to him the plan, and to catch a ride home with him. Jaz and I headed off to Bella's truck.

I looked over at the Volvo in time to see Em look over the top of the car at me, flash me a big grin and give me the thumbs up sign. Edward must have okayed the plan.

Not like he had much choice at this point. Rose had been his only ally, and she seemed to have switched to Team Bella.

Once in the truck Bella asked, "So, what's up with Rose? Has she decided I'm all right now?"

Jaz was the one to answer, saying, "Yeah, Emmett caught up to me earlier and said she wanted to start hanging out with us. He actually thinks she would have done so earlier if it wasn't for Edward. He thinks she felt like it would be disloyal to abandon him. She must have finally lost patience with him though."

"I thought she'd softened lately!" I said. "She was asking me what we all did over Bella's house. I figured if she was curious she must be starting to think about joining us. I'm glad she's finally decided she likes Bella, it took her longer then I had guessed."

"I'm nervous around her. I don't know how to act around her, and I don't know how to act with Emmett around her. Will she get pissed at my friendship with him?" Bella asked.

"Bella, just be yourself and don't over-think it. Rose will like you, she may not be overly friendly at first, but that's just how she is. And don't worry about your friendship with Emmett. Rose isn't jealous, she knows there's no one else for Em but her. Plus, she'll see right away that you guys are more like siblings to each other than anything else," I answered.

She looked shocked at that. "Are we?" she asked.

Jaz was the one who answered, saying, "Definitely. I think Emmett is enjoying having a little sister he can protect and mess with.""He already has one though, Alice is his little sister," Bella said.

I looked at Jasper, curious as to his answer.

"Yeah, but that's different. Alice has Edward. They're actually real brother and sister, and they're twins on top of that. As much as they love Emmett, and treat him like their brother, it's not quite the same. They're a unit unto themselves, and they can very much take care of themselves. I'm not saying that Emmett feels left out or anything, or that they don't treat him like their brother, it's nothing like that. It's just a different dynamic," he said.

"Then you come into the picture, and you're an only child, pretty much alone at this new school, and Emmett feels this instant connection with you, and I think he almost instantly started looking at you like a younger sister. I know he likes looking out for you, he heard a couple of idiots talking about your, uhhh, butt the other day, and he threatened to kick their asses if they so much as looked in your general direction again. And we know how much he loves teasing you. I think he likes thinking of you as his own personal little sister," he finished.

I thought everything he said over, and had to admit, I was pretty sure he was right. I was a little annoyed that he hadn't told me any of this earlier though. Especially the part where Em threatened to beat a couple of guys up for looking at Bella's ass. That was exactly the information I loved being privy to.

"And why didn't you tell me any of this?" I asked.

"Do you tell me all of your little plans?" he asked me.

He had a point. I rarely clued him in to my maneuverings.

Before we could get any further, Bella cut it.

"Who was talking about my butt?" she asked.

Jasper looked a little uncomfortable that Bella had focused on that point in particular. I smirked at him as I waited for him to respond.

"I don't know Bella, just a couple of idiots. It doesn't matter anymore, Emmett made sure that they wouldn't even look at you again, yet alone talk about your, uh, posterior ," he answered.

Bella didn't look satisfied with that, but I guess she decided she had something more important to discuss since she let it drop. Instead she focused on me.

"Listen Alice, I have a bone to pick with you. You're supposed to be my best friend, you're supposed to keep me informed of everything I should know here at Forks, and yet I was caught completely unawares today. I still have no idea what happened at lunch between James and your brother. Then Edward warned me away from James, and mind you it's been a couple of weeks since he voluntarily talked to me. James is circling around me like a vulture circling it's prey, and I'm completely clueless as to why everyone's acting like they've lost their minds all of a sudden," she said to me.

Inwardly I squealed in delight at her referring to me as her best friend. I knew I was her closest female friend at Forks High, I thought Emmett might offer up a little competition for closest overall friend, and I know I'd been thinking of her as my best friend pretty much since the day I'd met her, but this was the first time I'd heard her refer to me as her best friend.

My delight quickly changed to guilt however by the time she had finished talking. I knew she was right. I knew I should have been the one to make sure she had had all the information she would need when dealing with James, but in my defense I didn't think she would have to need to know so quickly. I had no idea James would zoom in on her before we even made it all the way through his first day back.

Again I silently cursed James. He was determined to make trouble for us, I was sure.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I'm not even going to try to excuse myself. I should have been the one to warn you about James, and I should have done it before he'd even stepped foot into the school. I honestly didn't think you'd have anything to worry about though, I in no way imagined he'd have introduced himself to you and start bothering you before I'd even had a chance to give you his back story," I explained.

"It's all right. James and I reached an agreement by the end of the day, and I don't think he'll be a problem for me," she said.

I completely froze up at this, shocked by what she'd just said.

"What do you mean you and James reached an agreement?" I asked.

"We had gym together and talked. I told him to drop the B.S., that I wasn't interested in it or him, and that if he couldn't drop it he needed to move on. He agreed and we're in a trial friendship right now," she said.

Oh shit. That mofo was better than any of us had thought.

"Bella, I don't think James is someone you want to be friends with," Jasper said.

"I know he's gotten into some trouble," she answered, "but he was open about it and didn't try to deny it or anything. He knows that I'm not interested in anything beyond friendship, and he's promised to behave. He also knows that I don't trust him yet, but that doesn't seem to bother him. Like I said, it's a trial period, but we have two classes together and lunch, so it's not like I'm going to be able to completely avoid him or anything, even if I wanted to."

I was shocked. I couldn't believe he had managed to maneuver himself into her orbit so quickly. This wasn't good.

I don't think I would have been so bothered by it if it wasn't for what Edward had recently told me, and the fact that I really felt that James planned to use Bella to try to hurt Edward. He might have been interested in her before Edward's little outburst today, but I was watching him, I knew his interest in her had spiked in that moment.

Whatever he had planned for her, it wasn't going to end good if he was left to his own devices.

We had just pulled up to the house at this point. I could see that the Volvo had been here for a while now, since Em, Rose and Edward were already inside. Bella's truck was seriously the slowest car I'd ever rode in.

"Look, we'll talk about it inside," I said. "Emmett will be pissed at us if we start this conversation without him. But Bella? You need to hear us out about James before you make any decisions regarding a friendship with him."

"Yeah, no problem. I had already planned on asking you about him. Like I said, I don't really trust him and want to know his story," she said.

I sighed in regret as I hopped out of her truck and headed inside. If only I had talked to her yesterday about him, maybe we could have avoided all of this. I had dropped the ball, and now we were going have to scramble because of it.

I knew we had a couple of things going for us though. First, there was more of us than of him, we'd be able to rally around her, making it hard for him to get to her. Except for, of course, the two classes they had together, but we'd deal with that. Second, we knew James well, Edward and I in particular knew how he thought.

But most importantly, when it came to maneuvering, James had nothing on me. He might be good at plotting, but I knew I was better. We'd had enough encounters growing up to know that I was the better chess player. Whatever he was planning, I would be there to block him.

Bella was my best friend, and I was _not_ going to let her get hurt because James was pissed at Edward and wanted to lash out at him. Bella was not going to be used like that. Even if that meant I'd have to spend all my free time trying to put a wrench in James's plan, so be it.

James had made the first maneuver, which meant that it was my play. I knew what my move would have to be, but I also knew it would take me a while to get my players in position.

Until then, I think James and I were going to have to have a little talk.

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**A/N:**

_Okay, Q & A time._

**Q. **(materialgirl-loz) oh James wants in her pants! So how long before Bella finally finds out what James is capable of then? Or has he really changed for the better?

**A. **_Good question. Has James really changed? Or is he just playing games? Is Bella being too naieve, or is she picking up on something that Alice and Edward, knowing James's history too well, might be missing out on. Ohhhhh, we'll have to wait and see._

**Q. **(beckayyboo) Was it just coincidental that James' last name is Black? Or are you trying to foreshadow that Jacob will come and make an appearance in your story?

**A. **_James is a composite of James and Jacob, with emphasis on James. Jacob will not be making an appearance in my story. In one of my earlier A/N's I explained that I am definitely a Team Edward kind of girl, and for the most part will avoid writing Jacob into my stories when I can. I'd probably be too tempted to just kill him off or something. So James is a lot James, a little Jacob. But for everyone else, remember, there is Jacob in there too! We all seem to forget that. lol._

_Okay, that's all the Q&A this round. Keep any questions coming, whatever pops into your head. Anyway, thanks again everyone! Sorry for the wait on the update, but I needed a break. And don't forget to keep a lookout for the new story! _

_Edward says he'll see you next chapter, and he promises to share the conclusions he reached regarding his feelings for a certain Miss B. ;o)_

_Ciao!_


	19. Chapter 19

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer! Still not me.**

**A/N:**

_Yay! Another chapter. Taking a break this weekend has really helped me get back into writing, which is good, because I was starting to not have fun with it anymore._

_Anyway, can't really think of much I need to say here. Thanks to all of you who took the time to let me know how you found my story!!! You rock. It was nice seeing how everyone found me. _

_As always, thank you to everyone who has taking the time to read this, and a BIG OLD THANK YOU to all of my reviewers, especially the ones who keep coming back chapter after chapter. I heart you guys!_

_Here we go..._

_*************************************************************  
_

**Edward**

I stayed in the car while Alice went back into the school to meet up with Bella and grab her stuff. I didn't need anything out of there, and I wanted a few minutes to myself to think before I had to face any of our family.

Could I actually be in love with Bella Swan?

Was it even possible? I mean, we'd had little to no interactions over the past few weeks. Our longest encounter, to date, was when I basically told her to get lost. I mean, I didn't even know her.

Except I did.

I knew that although I hadn't allowed myself to talk to her over the past few weeks I hadn't been able to stop myself from watching her at pretty much every possible chance. Despite my fervent desire to ignore her I found my eyes constantly seeking her out in the crowd. I couldn't stop myself from listening to her talk to her friends, from listening in as my family talked about her. I couldn't help but watch as she interacted with everyone around her, everyone but me that is, despite the fact that I knew that it would probably be my undoing.

I knew her little quirks and mannerisms well. I knew that she was able to trip over absolutely nothing. I knew that she liked to scribble in her journal when she was nervous, and that she ran her hands through her hair when she was frustrated. I knew that she was loyal to the people she cared about, and that she had no patience for people who played games. I knew that she loved to read in her spare time, I knew that she loved the sunshine, I knew that she missed her mom so much sometimes that it caused her pain.

I intimately knew the sound of her voice, it had almost driven me to madness many times. I could picture the curve of her neck with my eyes closed, and had spent far too much time imagining running my mouth over it. I could vividly imagine the feel of her lips, though I'd never had the chance to touch mine to them, and I knew beyond a doubt that I would give up all of my worldly possessions for the chance to taste them.

I had spent the past three weeks running from her, terrified of what would happen if I allowed her to become a part of my life. I had spent the past three weeks making myself miserable, and pissing off my family members, and probably royally annoying Bella. And all for what?

In the end it hadn't mattered whether I had run or not, it had all been just one big exercise in futility. The past three weeks had been nothing but a waste of time and energy, making me look and feel like an idiot.

I had to finally admit it to myself, somewhere during the last three weeks I had fallen head over heals in love with Isabella Swan, despite all of my best efforts not to.

I groaned and leaned my head back against the seat of my car, trying to get a grasp on this new realization.

I was in love with Isabella Swan.

I was stupidly, completely, irrevocably in love with Bella Swan.

Shit.

I had royally fucked up.

Oh god. I had fallen in love with the one girl at Forks High who, thanks to my idiocy, wanted nothing to do with me. I was such a douche.

Before I could get any farther in my thinking the passenger door opened and I looked up so see Emmett looking in at me.

"Dude, Bella is coming back to our house today. That gonna be a problem?" he asked.

I shook my head no, and he stood up, I was guessing to signal over to Jasper and Alice that it was okay with me.

I was glad she would be coming back to the house actually. I wanted to be sure that Alice made her fully aware of the James situation, and the easiest way to do that was to sit in on the conversation, which I had planned to do. Plus, maybe being in close proximity to Bella would help me to figure some things out.

As soon as Emmett and Rose climbed into the car I took off. Bella's truck looked like it went about thirty miles per hour, no way was I waiting around for her. Alice and Jaz would make sure she made it to the house okay.

Rose was sitting in the passenger seat, and Em had climbed into the back seat. When I looked in my rearview mirror I saw him staring me down.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to behave today, or do I need to have a talk with you?" he asked.

"Em, what are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Bella. Are you going to be behaved with her or are you going to go off on her again? Last time I let it go, but I'm friends with her now. You might be my brother, and I love you to death, but if you treat her like shit again I'm gonna have to bust you up a little," he said.

I laughed a little at that, but then I looked at him in my mirror again and realized he was serious.

"Emmett, are you threatening me? Over Bella? A girl you've known for just over three weeks?" I asked.

I mean, I had just realized that I was in love with Bella, and I realized that that had only taken three weeks, but Emmett was just her friend, and I was his brother for shit's sake. If he had to take sides, he should have been picking mine.

"She's like a little sister to me, and if you treat her like shit again I will step in this time. I'm not threatening, I'm just telling you how it would play out, so we're all on the same page," he said.

I looked over at Rose to see how she was taking Emmett's defense of Bella. It seemed totally out of character for her to be okay with Emmett defending another female like this, but she seemed completely unaffected by it. Odd, that.

The stubborn part of me didn't want to back down and let this drop, but the rational part knew that while I hadn't made a decision on what I was going to do about my Bella situation I sure as hell wasn't going to dig myself into a deeper ditch by purposely pissing her off again.

"Relax Em, I promise to be on my best behavior. There won't be a need to jump to Bella's defense, or bust me up, I swear," I said.

He seemed to be satisfied with that because he sat back and looked out the window.

We rode in silence for the next few minutes, all lost in thought I guess.

I pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the house. When I got out of the car I looked back up the drive to see if I could see any sign of Bella's truck, but I had a feeling it would be a few minutes before we saw any signs of it.

The three of us headed inside to wait for them. I was surprised to find Esme inside, I thought she had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, and I hadn't seen the car out in the driveway. She must have parked in the garage.

"Hey Esme," I said.

"Hi Edward. How was school?" she asked.

Emmett snorted behind me and cut in before I had a chance to answer.

"If he says good don't listen to him. James is back, and none of us are too pleased about that, especially Edward here. He got his panties all in a bunch today at lunch over it. Practically had to pin him down," he said.

"Emmett, don't talk about your brothers panties like that," Esme said.

"I don't wear panties, thank you very much, so we can all just let it drop. School was fine, despite the reappearance of James, who for the most part ignored me. Hopefully he'll continue to do so," I said.

Just then the front door open and Alice, Jasper and Bella walked in. As soon as I saw Bella walk into my house again for the first time since my little freak out my stomach did a little flop in anticipation. I was starting to act like a love-sick fool, which secretly I knew is exactly what I was.

Once everyone was in the living room Alice introduced Bella to Esme, who I had forgotten hadn't had the chance to meet her previously. Then Esme excused herself and turned the living room over to us kids.

We were all scattered throughout the living room. I was laying across the loveseat, staring up at the ceiling, secretly sneaking glances at Bella when I thought no one was looking. Jasper was in one of the recliners with Alice sitting on the floor in between his legs, and Bella had sat herself down on the matching one, on the other side of the little end table that was between them. Rose and Emmett were sitting together on the couch.

We were all quiet for a minute, and I think they were all waiting for me to excuse myself, but I had no intention of doing so. I wanted to be here for this conversation too, I wanted to be sure that they did a good enough job at warning Bella. Plus I just wanted to be near her, while I sorted things out.

Finally I think they realized I wasn't planning on leaving, and Alice explained James's history to Bella. Alice did most of the talking, with the others cutting in here and there when they had something to add.

Alice stopped before she got to my section of the tale, and I knew she was trying to decide if she should proceed or not. On the one hand, she wanted Bella to have as much info as possible on James, on the other hand I think she was hesitant to accuse James of something with so serious implications to it. She looked over at me, and I decided to make the decision for her.

"Last year I came upon him beating a dog with a bat. He had the dog in a sack and he was just beating the crap out of it. I came up behind him, so he didn't know I was there. I stopped him, but it was too late, the dog was already gone," I explained.

I looked over to see Bella blanch, obviously shocked by what I had just shared. When I looked around at the rest of my family I realized Bella wasn't the only one visibly upset by this.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Emmett asked.

"Because he was gone, and I didn't think he'd be back, and because I started rationalizing it, making excuses for him. We'd drifted apart, but that didn't erase out history together. What would you have done if you had come up on me doing something like that?" I asked.

"First, you wouldn't do something like that, of that I'm sure. But if you did I would tell Carlisle about it. You need help when you do something like that. He could be a Sociopath Edward, and if he is he needs professional help. He can't be left unchecked, especially if he has already started acting out violently, it's not safe for him or for the people around him," Emmett said.

"I was stupid, but I was also in shock. He left so quickly after that that I kind of felt like it wasn't my problem, and maybe it was just a one time thing, you know? I admit though I was an idiot. But it was a year ago, what can we do about it now? We'd have no proof and he'd just deny it if I told anybody about it," I said.

"I guess we keep our eyes peeled, watch him and his behavior and make sure he doesn't fuck up. I think you need to think about going to dad though and telling him what you saw. He'll believe you and he'll know a little more about what to do," he said.

"I'll think about it," I said.

"So this is why you were trying to warn me away from him today?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. James is dangerous, we might not know to what extent yet, but there's no question that he is dangerous. I know that he has every intention of trying to hurt me, and I'm sure now he's going to try to use you to do that," I said.

"I don't understand, why would he use me to hurt you? He knows that we're not even friends, so why would he think that doing something to me would affect you in any way?" she asked.

I realized my mistake as the room grew quiet, and everyone stared between the two of us. Shit. I couldn't seem to talk to Bella today without screwing up.

Alice took pity on me and broke the silence. "James saw Edward's reaction today at lunch, when he sat down across from you. He knows Edward well, he won't miss what that means, and he'll try to use that to his advantage," she said.

"I'm sorry, I'm not getting this. Edward was just reacting to seeing James for the first time since everything happened last year, why would that have any kind of significance to James? If anything he should have been expecting exactly that kind of reaction" she said.

Oh god, this was going to get awkward. I knew she needed to know this, because I knew she needed to be aware of James's motivations in developing a relationship with her, but this wasn't how I wanted her to figure out I had feelings for her. I knew I should man up, and explain it to her myself, but I was taking the cowards way out.

When it became apparent that I wasn't about to step in and clarify Emmett stepped up to the plate.

"If it had been anyone else but James they would have probably come to the same conclusions as you. James, however, is one perceptive shit-bag and he knows my brother well, too well actually. Bella, Edward wouldn't react like that to seeing James for the first time. He wouldn't let James see that he had any kind of affect on him like that. That wasn't a normal reaction from Edward," he said.

Jasper cut in, "James will know that Edward has feelings for you, from his little display today. He was ready to rip James's throat out, and there's no way James, of all people, would miss the implications behind that. He'll know that Edward cares about you, and that to hurt you would effectively hurt Edward as well," he said.

I'd been staring at Bella this whole time, trying to see what her reaction would be. I could see when she comprehended what they were trying to say to her. I could see the shock and disbelief cross her face.

When Jasper finished talking she looked over at me, looking for some kind of denial. I just continued to stare at her, unwilling to voice my feelings for her like this, especially when they were so new to me, yet unwilling to deny what they were saying either.

"That's bullshit," she finally said, "Edward, tell them that's bullshit."

I took a deep breathe, never breaking eye contact, and finally said, "I can't."

That was as far as I was willing to go here in coming clean about how I felt, for now anyway.

"Yes, you can. You just say, 'You guys are wrong, it's pretty obvious from my behavior that I want nothing to do with Bella Swan'. How hard is that?" she asked.

"Bella, I'm not going to lie. You need to know why you, in particular, are in danger from James. For you to understand that you need to know what his motivations will be, and my feelings for you will be propelling his actions. If I denied what James already knows I'd be giving him a huge advantage, and leaving you inexcusably exposed ," I explained.

That was as close as I was willing to get in the circumstances to admitting how I really felt about her. I cursed James in my head, for probably the hundredth time today, for forcing me to admit something that I wasn't ready to say, and that I was sure Bella wasn't ready to hear.

"You expect me to believe that you have feelings for me when you've treated my like a complete asshole for the past three weeks? I tried to be nice to you, and you treated me like shit, like some kind of garbage that needed to be tossed away. You were horrible to me when I in no way deserved it. I hadn't done a single thing to provoke your anger that day. For the past three weeks you ignored me, made me feel unwelcome in your presence, made me lose out on time with my closest friends. You made those same friends, your own family I might add, feel like they had to constantly choose between the two of us, making me feel guilty for even wanting to be friends with them in the first place. And now you expect me to believe that you developed feelings for me, despite all of this?" she asked.

Before I could say anything in my defense she continued on, her eyes ablaze in anger by this point.

"You know what Edward? Fuck you. You made me feel like the worst kind of shit lately and so I feel I deserve the right to say that to you. Fuck you asshole." And with that she got up and walked out of our house.

We were all quiet as we heard her truck start up, and pull away from the house. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, knowing that she had every right to react that way.

Emmett was the first to react, saying, "Well that went better than was expected."

I stared at him in disbelief. Bella had just tore into me, called me an asshole, and then stormed out of the house in anger, and he thought it had gone better than expected?

"Dude, she could have totally slapped you for that, and I doubt a single one of us would have blamed her," he said.

I saw the others nod in agreement. I guess all things considered, he was probably right, I should feel lucky she hadn't just walked over and slap me.

Rose cut in, saying, "You know Edward, Bella's been to our house exactly twice now, and both times she stormed out of here because of you. Maybe from now on you should only interact with her away from our house."

"Thanks Rose, that makes me feel better," I said, rolling my eyes at her.

I sighed in frustration. Part of me wanted to chase after Bella and try to explain myself, but I knew that I had no explanation that would excuse my behavior. I had been a dick, and I was just going to have to pay for my actions.

My only hope now was that I would be able to earn Bella's forgiveness, so that I could somehow be a part of her life. Anything else wouldn't be acceptable to me. Now that I realized my feelings for her I wasn't going to be satisfied with watching her from a distance. I wanted to be part of her life, and I was going to work to get there.

Well, one good thing at least had come out of today. I had finally set upon a course of action. From this point on I was going to work to earn Bella's forgiveness and trust. I was going to try to become a part of her life, like my family had become, instead of just watching from the sidelines. And I was going to pursue her like I had never had to, or wanted to, pursue any other woman before. I was going to win Isabella Swan's heart if it was the last thing I did, because otherwise, I wasn't sure if mine would survive.

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**A/N:**

_Sooooo, what did you think? Do I get some love for that one? Maybe just a little? Teeny bit perhaps? No? Oh well. lol. Seriously though, drop me a line to let me know what you thought about it, as I love to hear from you all. Okay, quick Q&A section today. _

**Q. **(tkeaton1) oh boy... i hope bella listens to them and heeds their warning! I think James is only doing it to get even with edward. sucks that it takes this to bring edward out of his mood though. would he have ever come around without james being there?

**A. **_Yeah, he definitely would have. In fact, I think he was almost there already, without James stepping into the picture. Rose going over to the darkside probably would have been enough to push him into admitting his feelings to himself, it just might have taken a few days. _

**Q. **(princessatessa08...who I have to point out, was my first loyal reviewer. She's been with me from the beginning of this story, so totally deseves this little shout-out I think. ;o) so here is a question for you. how excited are you for the dvd?

**A. **_What dvd would that be? lol, joking of course. I am really excited about the release of the dvd actually, which is seriously funny because I didn't particularly like the movie. I think the book did such a better job than the movie did, and was really dissapointed when I watched it the first time. The dialogue felt forced, too much was cut out, and some of the stuff they added felt pointless. Because the dialogue was so forced the acting suffered from it, and we didn't really get to feel any real connection between Bella and Edward, which REALLY sucks, because it is totally their story. It's why we feel in love with the book. BUT, I'm still totally looking forward to the release of the dvd, and have already actually reserved my copy. It doesn't make sense to me that I would be this excited over something that had dissapointed me, but it hurts my brain when I try to figure out my reasoning sometimes so I don't bother. lol._

_All right everyone, again, thanks for reading, and taking the time to review! It keeps me motivated. _

_I promised you all an Emmett chapter a little while back, and I wanted to say I hadn't forgotten. He'll be up soon, I just wanted to wait for a specific part of the story to switch over to his PoV, so that his chapter was actually relevent. Some people are showing interest in a James chapter, and I wanted to say that I'm considering it. It's on the table right now lol. So if it's something you'd like to see happen, let me know, and if it's something you'd have no interest in, let me know! lol._

_Bella wanted me to tell you that she'll see you next time. Thanks again!_


	20. Chapter 20

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. **

**A/N:**

_So got a lot of positive reviews last chapter about Bella's reaction to Edward. Apparently we all thought he had a good telling off coming to him. ;o) Thanks for the great reviews guys! As usual you all are awesome, but I'm sure you know that by now. _

_Ummm, not much to go over. As usual, thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews, it's what keeps me motivated! _

_Guess that's it, time for the chapter I guess. See you for Q&A afterward!_

_*****************************************************************  
_

**Bella**

I couldn't believe the nerve of him. I could not believe that he was able to sit there and try to tell me that he had feelings for me, after everything he had put me through. Was this his idea of a joke? If so, I wasn't laughing.

As I drove away from his house, too pissed off to be in the same place as him for the moment, I tried to make sense of what he had just told me, but I couldn't. His past behavior wasn't the behavior of someone who cared about me in any way, it was the behavior of someone who seriously disliked me.

For a minute I panicked. Maybe he was playing some kind of sick game with me, toying with my emotions? Then I remembered that Alice, Emmett, and Jasper had been there at the time, and I knew that the three of them would never have let Edward screw with me like that, even if he was their brother. I had faith in our friendship to trust that they would step in if Edward was screwing with me.

Which meant that for whatever reason Edward really did believe that he had feelings for me.

I didn't know how I felt about that honestly. I had gotten so used to being on the defensive around him that I couldn't even grasp the idea of talking and hanging out with him without feeling like he was annoyed by having to share the same space as me. Every time I thought about it I got all pissed off at him again.

Well, screw that. Did he expect me to just swoon at his feet or something now? Because that was not about to happen.

It was true that he was pretty much the hottest man I'd ever seen, and that I had felt this instant connection with him when we first met, but he had killed that connection that very same day. I no longer had as much anger towards him as I did those first couple of days, but what was left was this void. We were nothing to each other. I was his sister's friend, and he was my best friend's brother, and that was it.

As I pulled up to my house I decided I needed to sort through my feelings, or in this case I suspected lack-there-of, for Edward later, as I had bigger issues to deal with.

James.

Now that I knew his full story I knew I couldn't ignore the warnings. I actually found myself wishing that I had taken Edward's warning more seriously earlier today, but he had really pissed me off, and I had had no reason _to_ trust him at the time. He hated James, that much was obvious, and he didn't really like me, so maybe he had just been trying to get to James.

But I knew now that that wasn't true. I knew he had taken a leap of faith in telling me his portion of James's tale, and despite the fact that I was really mad at him right now, even I couldn't deny that.

So, now I was in kind of a crappy situation. I had just told James we would do a trial period for a potential friendship, and then I had promised him that I would come to him with any rumors I heard about him that would affect my opinion of him. I didn't want to break my promise, but at the same time, I didn't want to betray Edward by telling him what I'd been told.

I needed to figure something out, and I needed to do it before I saw James again tomorrow.

I just couldn't imagine being friends with him now. The whole dog thing, and what that could mean, was just too scary to think about. I had wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but I just couldn't get past that.

So now I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do.

I needed to talk to Alice. I knew I had just left her house, but I had needed to get away from Edward at the time, and I couldn't figure out anyone else who could help me come up with a plan. I went into the kitchen and grabbed the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey Alice, it's me," I said.

"Bella! I'm so glad you called. Are you all right? I'm sorry about Edward earlier, I'm sure that must have thrown you through a loop," she said.

"I'm fine, I've decided to think about that later. For the moment I'm trying to figure out what the hell to do about James. I need your help trying to figure out what to do about him," I explained.

"Yeah, sure. How about I come over and we can talk in person. Ohhhh, do you think Charlie would be okay if I spent the night? That way we'd have the rest of tonight to come up with something, and then we could go in to school together in the morning," she said.

I could hear the excitement in her voice at the prospect, and I had to admit that my inner teenage girl squealed a little at the idea. I'd never had a 'slumber party' before. Could it even be considered a slumber party if it was just one person coming over? I had to admit, I was clueless about slumber party etiquette.

I was pretty sure Charlie would be fine with it, but as I could hear his car pulling up I told Alice to hold on for a minute while I ran to ask him.

I was back in less then two minutes, Charlie having okayed the plan. Alice told me she'd see me in about half an hour, and we hung up.

I thought about how different my life here at Forks was than back home in Phoenix. As much as I missed my mom and the sunshine of back home, I couldn't regret coming here. This was the first time I had had real friends, the first time I was included in a group. I felt like I belonged somewhere finally.

I had dreaded coming here, but now I couldn't imagine my life if I hadn't. I didn't want to think about not having Alice, Jasper, and Emmett in my life. In such a short amount of time we'd all become so close. And now even Rose seemed to be warming up to me. I finally knew what it felt like to have a best friend, and I knew that we'd only get closer with time.

I was in the kitchen finishing up on dinner, fish tacos, when I heard the front door and knew Alice was here. Charlie was in the living room watching TV, and though I could have let him get it I was so excited that I ran out to answer it myself, having taken dinner of the stove first.

I opened the door to find Alice standing there, and behind her staring blankly at me, was Edward. Alice looked up at me with her big pixie grin on her face, and I knew that this was her doing. That little imp.

Charlie called out from his chair, "Alice come on in, don't let Bella make you stand in the door."

I stood aside and let her in, narrowing my eyes at her as she passed. Little evil pixie.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head a little, and then signaled for Edward to come in. He followed his sister into the living room, with me coming up behind him.

"Dad, this is Alice's brother Edward. They're actually twins, so he's in the same grade as us," I explained.

Charlie got up to shake Edward's hand, having first given Alice a big old smile. Alice was pretty much my dad's favorite person, she had won him over in record time and now I sometimes thought he actually preferred her to me.

"Nice to meet you Edward. Any family of Alice's is welcome here. I'm actually surprised I haven't met you before this, the rest of your family seem to have made this their second home," he said.

I looked over at Edward, smirking at him a little at him. Let's see what he came up with for that.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Chief Swan. Bella and I haven't had much of a chance to get to know each other before now, which is why I haven't been around before this, but I'm working on rectifying that," he said.

Figured. I should have known he'd have no problem coming up with something, I'd seen him around enough adults to know he was a smooth talker when he wanted to be.

"Well, you're welcome to stay for dinner if you'd like. Bella made fish tacos for dinner, and it's one of her best dishes," Charlie said.

Edward continued to look at Charlie, but I could feel his attention shift over to me, trying to see whether or not I'd be okay with this. I narrowed my eyes and shook my head no, just barely, but enough so that he understood. He took the hint and focused back on Charlie, who had totally missed our subtle conversation.

"I'd love to Chief Swan, but my parents are expecting me back for dinner. I just came to drop Alice off and say hi to Bella, but I need to head back," Edward said.

"Sure, no problem, but call me Charlie, the rest of your family already does. Bella will walk you out, and listen, you're welcome here any time. Stop by once in a while with your sister here," he said.

I wanted to groan in frustration, but instead headed off to the door to walk Edward out, while Alice and Charlie sat down in the living room and started chatting.

I opened the door and stepped out into the evening air, Edward following behind.

"Thanks for declining Charlie's dinner invitation," I said.

"I get that you've had to deal with a lot of information today, and need some time to process everything, so I'm willing to back off for a little while. But Bella? That doesn't mean I'm going to let you chase me off. I know what I want now and believe me when I tell you that I have every intention of fighting for it, for you. If in the end you still want nothing to do with me, I'll deal with it, but I thought you should know that in the meantime I'm going to do everything in my power to win you over. Just a little head's up, so we both know where we stand," he said.

I stared at him dumbfounded, wondering how in the hell we had gone from not speaking to each other to declarations in one day. It seemed completely absurd to me.

"Do what you feel you need to do Edward, but I don't see how you can erase the past three weeks, and I have no plans to. You've got a lot of grounds to make up before I'd even consider calling you friend," I said, knowing as I spoke it that it was true.

"I'm willing to give it my best shot. And you know what? I'm pretty sure that I have the advantage here. I know how hard it was to stay away from you these past three weeks, and I plan on using that knowledge to my advantage. I know that there's a connection between us, and I'm pretty sure that you'll find it as hard to resist that connection as I did," he said.

Then he reached out and lightly rubbed the back of his hand down the side of my neck, and before I could stop my traitorous body I shivered slightly and leaned into his hand a little. My eyes flew open and I looked up at him just in time to see the look of triumph cross his face.

Damn him! That wasn't fighting fair.

I heard him chuckle lightly, which just enraged me more, and so I did the only thing I could think of. I stepped back and shut the door in his face.

I leaned against the closed door, trying to get my composure back before having to go back and face Charlie and Alice. I knew Alice was perceptive as hell, and would most likely pick up on the fact that something had happened, but I was hoping Charlie would remain clueless. I took one last deep breathe to steady myself and then headed in.

Once in the living room I said to them, "Dinner will be ready in like three minutes guys."

Alice stood up saying, "Let me come help you with that."

I went in and turned the stove back on and started to heat up the fish, which had cooled down a little in the past few minutes. Alice floated around me, setting the table and pulling out anything else we'd need. She was well acquainted with our kitchen by this point, so didn't need to ask me where anything was.

After about a minute I felt her come up behind me, stopping just behind my right shoulder, and knew she was about to pounce.

"What just happened between you and my brother?" she asked.

"Nothing, we just said goodbye," I said, not for one second thinking she'd believe me.

"No, you're lying. You feel off somehow, charged or something. What did you guys say to each other?" she asked.

"Alice, dinner is pretty much done, and Charlie will be coming in, this isn't really the best time to talk about this," I said.

I was hoping she'd accept that, and then forget to ask me again later, what with the whole James discussion still in front of us.

"Isabella Swan. I know what you're doing, and let me tell you, we're not done with this conversation," she said.

"Fine, as long as it doesn't take place at the dinner table," I returned.

She shook her head in agreement, and we called Charlie in and the three of us ate dinner. It was nice having Alice over for dinner, it was a completely different atmosphere than when it was just Charlie and me. Generally when we were home by ourselves dinner was a very quiet affair.

Alice talked all through dinner, and had Charlie laughing and talking back with her. I participated in the conversation too, but for the most part was content to sit back and watch the two of them.

After dinner we cleaned up, and Alice and I sat down to work on our homework for a bit, while Charlie hung out in the living room watching TV. After we were done our homework we said goodnight to Charlie, and headed up to my room. It was still pretty early, but then we had no intentions of going to sleep yet.

As soon as we were in and comfortable Alice went right back to asking me what had happened with Edward. I knew I had to give her something, or she wouldn't focus on the James problem.

"Nothing happened, really. I told him thanks for declining Charlie's invitation, he basically told me that he was giving me space for now but that he was done ignoring me, and that was it," I said.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and for a second I thought she wasn't going to let it go at that, but she seemed to realize we had bigger problems on our plate at the moment, and let it go.

"Alright, on to James then," she said. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Well, I can't be friends with him after today. Maybe if I had just known about all the stuff he got in trouble for last year I could have, but not after what Edward told us about James beating the dog. That's just too much, and I feel like it would be stupid to ignore something that big. He might have changed, but the possibility that he didn't is just too scary after hearing about what had happened," I explained.

"Okay, good. I think it would just be asking for trouble hanging out with him, and I really feel like he hopes to use you to hurt Edward, which means you would most likely get hurt in the process," she said.

"I don't know about all that. I really doubt that he thinks he can use me to hurt Edward. I mean, he asked me about Edward and I told him that we barely talked, and that you and I were friends, and I'm pretty sure he knew I wasn't lying," I said.

"Bella, I've known James a long time now, he's very good at reading people, and he's probably very focused on Edward right now. He saw Edward's reaction at lunch, and he knows him enough to know what that would have to mean. No matter what you told him, there is no way that he would believe that you mean nothing to Edward," she said.

I found that really hard to believe, but let it go anyway as it didn't matter.

"Anyway, look, here's the problem. I told James today that we could have a probationary friendship, and then promised him that if I heard any rumors that would alter my opinion of him that I would go back to him with them first. I don't think it's a good thing to carry on with even a probationary friendship at this point, but I don't want to break my promise, and I don't think he'll let me just start ignoring him now anyway. So what do I do? I don't feel it's my place to tell him I know about the dog thing, plus I think that will backfire and end up causing Edward problems. I'm kind of just stuck here," I said.

"Edward and I will handle that part Bella. I had planned on having a little talk with James anyway, and I think James needs to know why you've decided to stay away from him, and that part should come from Edward. This was brought on by us, we should be the one to handle it," she said.

"I don't think that's fair though, to you guys or to James. Despite everything I feel I owe him a face to face. If I'm going to go back on our agreement I feel like it should be my responsibility to tell him so," I explained.

"All right, look, how about Edward and I talk to him first, and then you can have your little face to face later? That way he knows why you've made your decision, but you're not the one who has to explain the reasons why, but you're still making good on your promise. Good?" she asked.

"As long as Edward is all right with it then okay. I feel bad about it, but I think it's the best compromise," I answered.

"All right, let me call Edward up and let him know the plan so that we can try to intercept James in the morning, before you have to deal with him," she said, as she reached over for her cell phone.

She dialed and put the phone up to her ear before saying, "Emmett? What are you doing with Edward's phone? Oh, ok. Go interrupt him and tell him I need to talk to him real fast. Yes, it's important. She's fine, we just figured out the James situation. I'll explain it to Edward and he can explain it to you, I don't want to have to repeat myself. I promise, now go put Edward on."

She rolled her eyes at me as she waited, saying, "Emmett's like a big girl, he loves gossip and hates not being up to speed on things."

Then she started talking back into the phone, "Hey Edward, sorry to bother you. Bella and I just talked and we decided that you and I would talk to James in the morning tomorrow, and then Bella would talk to him later, reinforcing her stance that she doesn't want to pursue a relationship. But I really think James will only accept that if we tell him everything she knows, so he doesn't try to explain his actions away."

She listened for a minute before saying, "She's not an idiot Edward, you need to give her more credit than that."

Another pause before she finished with, "Fine, hold on a second, here she is."

She passed the phone over to me, apologizing to me under her breath at the same time.

"Hello?" I said.

"Isabella. The only way I'll agree to this plan is if you promise me you won't go off anywhere alone with James when you talk to him tomorrow," he said.

I felt my temper kick in at that. He had no right to make demands of me. But then I remembered that he was offering to help me and I relaxed again.

"I have no intention of going off anywhere alone with James, that I promise," I said.

There was a long pause before he finally said, "All right, tell Alice I'll see her in the morning then. Have very sweet dreams, lovely Bella."

And with that he hung up, before I could offer a reply. I snorted at the phone and handed it back to Alice.

"He told me to tell you he'll see you in the morning," I said.

"Good, we have a course of action set out now, and we can relax for the moment. Now, tell me what you thought of what Edward said today," she said.

"I'm pissed off really. No offense Alice, but your brother isn't one of my favorite people right now. No matter what his words were today, his actions of the past three weeks were beyond shitty, and I'm not ready to put that behind me yet. If he wants to be my friend, he's going to have to earn it, because right now I don't think too highly of him," I answered.

"That's okay Bella. If it had been any different I would have been upset with you. He can't expect to treat you like that and then just decide he wants to be a part of your life and have you instantly agree. Occasionally Edward needs to be brought down some, and this is one of those times. I just wanted to know if you were willing to at least give him a chance?" she asked.

"He's my best friend's brother, if nothing else than for your sake I'll give him a second chance. But if he screws this one up Alice, there'll be no going back. You know the expression, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' that applies here. If he screws up again I'll consider it a lesson learned, and move on," I said.

She squealed in delight, before saying, "Oh Bella, I'm so stoked you're willing to give him another shot. He won't screw this up, I promise. That's the one really great thing about Edward, once he cares about someone he'll do everything he can to try to keep them happy. Just look at all he's suffered so that Emmett and Rose, and Jasper and I could be happy together."

She had a point, but I guess only time would tell. With that we got ready for bed. I made up a bed on the floor for Alice, I had offered her my bed but she refused, and we took turns in the bathroom before settling in.

As I laid in bed I thought about what a crazy day it had been, so much had happened in such a short amount of time. Life here in Forks was certainly interesting. I smiled to myself as I thought about how much I was enjoying my life, even with all the drama going on. I was happy, and I hadn't expected to be.

As I drifted off to sleep I imagined a pair of emerald green eyes, and I cursed my mind for being the traitor it was, and making my last conscious thought for the night of Edward Cullen's beautiful eyes. Stupid boy with his stupid perfect eyes.

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**A/N:**

_What did you think? We're working out way through lol. Oh goodie, it's Q&A time. hehehe Only one question for today as most of your reviews seemed to focus on how much Edward deserved his little telling off lol. I'll share some of my favorite comments from you on the subject though lol.  
_

**Q. **(guccisassy) Good! Keep it up..but how about a little more length to the chapters? Just a thought!

**A. **_I would love to sit down and just be able to write and write, but I actually have a one year old daughter running around taking up most of my time lol. My writing tends to get done after she goes to bed for the night, and then we all know how big of a procrastinator I am, so then it tends to get done really late at night. I had to make a decision, really long chapters every couple of days, or shorter chapters, but updated every night. Personally, when I'm reading a ff I know how hard it is to sit and wait for the updates, so I went for the shorter chapters, updated every day. But, I'm just guessing at what you all would prefer. If you'd rather have longer chapters, but a little more time between the updates, now's your chance to let me know. If that's what you guys would prefer I'll switch things up._

_Okay, some of my fav comments after yesterday's chapter..._

(kdesign23) I absolutely loved it when Bella went off on Edward. He deserved it yes, but there is nothing I love more than a strong woman taking control of her situation. I like my Bella's with a backbone. : ) ~ _I have to agree with you on that one. _

(Twylitelvr77) Awesome chapter, I love how Bella told his ass off, he needed that! Now lets hope she pulls her head out of hers so that she can listen to their warnings about James and she can realize her own feelings...ahh...tick tock..we wait! _~ lol, as I wrote this chapter I used this for inspiration, every once in a while reminding myself to keep Bella's head out of her ass. lmao_

(VanessaHW) damn bella, she definatley has some balls after that speech. If i was her, I would be screaming " I am Woman, hear me roar" all the way home _~ mmmm, you have no idea how much I wished I had thought of that first lol. *roar* Classic._

(Canikeepu) I liked this chapter. But damn she shoulda slapped him :) I hope you don't stop writing this anytime soon!! That would be cruel. _~ lol, I seriously considered having her slap him, which is why I had Emmett mention it, but in the end I thought that would be too hard for them to come back from, and thought a good telling off would be better. And no worries, I definitely plan to finish this out. I have the ending all worked out in my head now._

_Aight, those were some of my favs, but I loved all the reviews of course! Thanks so much everyone, you guys are marvelous! _

_Alice told me to tell you that she'll see you next time! She hopes you'll join her and Edward for their conversation with James!_


	21. Chapter 21

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. **

**A/N:**

_Hi all! How are we today? Hopefully wonderful. :o)_

_So, here it is, the next chapter. I hope you all like it, but if not at least I had fun writing it. ;o)_

_I have to say that I use music to get me in the mood for my chapters. I listen to certain artists when I'm trying to write from each PoV, and then I look for music to catch the particular mood of the chapter. Last night I was listening to the yumminess that is Robert Pattinson. I was playing Let Me Sign over and over again, and I was having a hellova time getting through this chapter. I was trying to stay light, and I kept writing really dark. I had to start the chapter over several times. Anyway, eventually I made myself switch to something a little more upbeat, which helped out tremendously. _

_Along those same lines. The Alice/Jasper parking lot scene here is a direct result of the song I was listening to at the time. I had no intention of writing that into this chapter at all, but it starting coming out and I went with it. Hope you don't mind the little veer off, like I said, it wasn't in the plan but I think it worked anyway._

_As usual, thank you all so much for reading this! Huge thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to review for me. :o)_

_Without further ado, the lovely Alice..._

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**Alice**

I woke up the next morning in a great mood. It had been so long since I had slept over anyone's house and I was still riding high off of the excitement.

Bella had no idea how important her friendship was to me. Before she came along I was in this isolated little bubble, just me and my family. I think that's why she meant so much to our family, she was like a return to normal for us in a way.

It sort of amazed me that Bella was able to accept our family unconditionally after only knowing us a couple of weeks, and yet, the people we pretty much grew up with shunned us after I started dating Jasper.

It just made me love Bella that much more. Which is why I was determined to tackle this James situation today, before she could get hurt because of my family's past with him.

Bella and I got up and ready for the day, then headed downstairs to scavenge for some breakfast. I was appalled to see that Bella actually ate cereal for breakfast. That was no way to start the day, so I convinced her to let me make some pancakes for the two of us.

After we ate we headed out to Bella's truck, we were leaving a little early but we wanted to get to school in plenty of time to meet up with Edward. I was determined that he and I would get a chance to talk to James this morning before Bella had to face him.

We chatted all the way to school, about nothing in particular, and I was just so happy to feel like a normal girl again. I knew when I had had my vision about Bella that she was going to end up being important to my family, and myself, and I was so glad that I had been right.

When we pulled into the school parking lot I looked around and right away noticed the Volvo. I hopped out of the truck, anxious now to see Jasper, who I wasn't used to spending the night away from.

I skipped over to him. He stood there waiting for me with his arms spread wide, ready to engulf me in a huge hug. As I wrapped myself around him I took in his scent and the feel of his body, and reveled in his warmth.

Somehow I had managed to catch this man's attention, and then eventually even his love. I cherished every day we spent together as if it could be the last. I vowed to never take him for granted. He was my Jasper, the man of my dreams, and I loved him more than life itself.

He was my oxygen, he was my sun, he was my everything.

I pulled back from him and looked up into his eyes, trying to read his emotions. He let his mask drop, the one he so often had in place to protect himself from the people who orbited around us, judging us for our love.

I felt my stomach do a little flip as I registered the love, adoration, and lust in his eyes. He had missed me as much as I had missed him, that much was obvious. In that moment I desperately wished we were alone somewhere private, so I could show him exactly how much I had missed him.

He smiled a little, and I knew he could tell what I was thinking. He chuckled lightly and leaned down until his forehead touched mine, as he brought his hand up to the side of my face, tenderly stroking his thumb over my mouth. I opened my mouth and lightly bit the tip of his thumb, teasing him a little before I had to pull away.

I was about to step away from him to greet the others when he pulled me back against his body and leaned down and caught my mouth with his, claiming it as his own. I was ready to protest, we never kissed like this in public, when the heat of it caught me up and I leaned into him, deepening the kiss.

My hands reached up into his hair at the same time my body melted into his. The world around me disappeared, and in that moment no one existed beyond the two of us.

His tongue caressed mine and before I could stop myself I closed my mouth around it, and lightly started sucking. I pulled back a little, letting my mouth slide over his tongue, and then leaned back into the kiss, mouth open. He chuckled lightly and nibbled on my lower lip, as his hand came up to stroke the back of my neck, making my whole body tingle.

As always happened, I felt like someone had lit a fire in my body, and Jasper was the only one who could ease the intensity that came along with that. Somehow I managed to deepen our kiss, though a second ago I wouldn't have believed that that was possible.

My arms wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him closer to my body, to make the space between us disappear. His free arm came up and rested in the small of my back, molding every single enflamed inch of me to him.

I don't know how long we stayed entwined like that, seconds maybe? Possibly minutes, even hours for all I knew.

I only came back to reality when Jasper slowly pulled out of the kiss, allowing me to catch my breathe and clear my head. I looked into his eyes to see that they were clouded in passion, and I knew that mine must have mirrored his.

He stared at me for a moment before smiling and saying, "I missed you last night, little minx."

"I miss you every second we're apart Jasper," I returned, my own smile matching his.

Only then did my brain start registering the sounds of the parking lot around me. Only then was I able to turn to my family, all of who were politely looking away, and greet them.

I wasn't much for PDA's, but I couldn't regret the one I had just been a part of. It certainly was going to be the highlight of my day.

I nodded at each of my family members, saying, "Morning Rose, Emmett, Edward. Well, let's get this show on the road. What are we all standing around here waiting for? We've got business to attend to."

With that I started walking away, before anyone else could get a word in. I heard Emmett laugh behind me, but he kept quiet. I assumed that Bella and my family had all greeted each other while Jaz and I had kept ourselves busy.

Edward caught up to me before we hit the entrance to the school.

"What's the plan Alice?" he asked.

"You and I need to find James and have a talk, making it clear that Bella is off limits to him. If he wants to come after us, let him do it head on and leave Bella out of it. She has nothing to do with any of this," I said, the determination coming through in my voice.

"All right, sounds good," he said.

"I'm coming with you guys," Jasper said behind us.

"If he's coming I sure as hell am too. I might not have your past with James, but he was part of my life too, I have the right to face off with him on this," Emmett cut in.

Edward stopped dead and turned to face both of them.

"No, absolutely not. This morning is strictly about Bella, about keeping her safe. If you two come with us it'll turn into a big pissing match, and we won't get anything accomplished. This needs to be between me, Alice and James. Jasper, I'll keep Alice safe, she is my sister after all, so you can relax. Em, if you really feel like you need to have some kind of show-down with James you can do it another time. For now we need to focus on our goal, making Bella safe. Okay?" he asked them both.

They both hesitated for a second, each for different reasons, before finally agreeing to what Edward said. I was proud of my brother in that moment, and knew that his concern for Bella was what was propelling him forward above all else, even his own hatred for James.

Before we started walking again I took charge.

"Okay, we still have a little while before first class starts, anyone know if James is here yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually, I do. I saw him head in while you and Jasper were shoving your tongues down each others throat," Emmett answered.

"Anyone know where his locker is?" Edward asked.

"Next to mine actually. That's how we met," Bella said.

Well shit. That wasn't good, but we'd have to deal with that later. For now we just needed to get this done.

"Okay, Edward and I are going to go talk to him, the rest of you guys hang out with Bella and keep her company. Bella, do you need to get into your locker before class starts?" I asked.

"I would like to, just so I can drop some of my books off, but I don't actually need anything," she said.

"How about you leave some of your stuff in Emmett's locker for now? That way you don't have to tote everything around," I said.

She shook her head in agreement and we all turned and continued walking, splitting up once we hit the school. Edward and I headed off to Bella's locker, while the others went to hang out near Emmett's.

I could see James next to Bella's locker, waiting for her to show up. I looked over at Edward and he nodded at me slightly, giving me the signal to go.

I skipped over to him with a smile pasted onto my face, and saw surprise run across his. He hadn't been expecting us to make the first move. Edward and I went over and leaned on the lockers on either side of James, facing out just as James was.

"Morning James, been a while, huh?" I said.

"Alice. This is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"What? Can't old friends stop by to say hi?" Edward asked.

We would do this together, bouncing off each other to keep James on his toes. It was one of the few things that could throw him off. He hated how in synch Edward and I could be, making him feel one step behind, and we fully planned to use that to our advantage this morning.

"You didn't seem so friendly and accommodating yesterday. In fact you had seemed ready to tear into me," he said.

"That was before we had a chance to miss you James, before your return really sunk in for us. Can you blame us for being a little shocked to see you at first? The last time we did, you had just crashed my brother's car into a lake and dropped a cherry bomb into his locker. Understandably, I think, it took us a day or so for us to move past that," I said, sarcasm dripping off of my every word.

"Allegedly. I allegedly crashed Edward's car and left a cherry bomb in his locker. You know there was no actual proof of any of that Alice," James said.

"Do we _really_ need proof James? Alice and I just _know_ these things, you might say," Edward said, tapping his forehead with his finger as he talked.

"And you know James, we would _love_ to be able say that your secrets are safe with us, but that would entail making a promise we might not be able to keep," I said, with a look of innocence on my face.

"You guys don't know anything, and can prove even less," he spit out.

I could feel his confidence starting to slip, but I had to remind myself that this wasn't over yet.

"Will it really matter James? Will your father believe your denials, will he even stop to listen to them, once the rumors start?" Edward asked.

It was a low blow, but I couldn't blame him for it. The outcome of this was too important. We needed to use everything we had in our arsenal.

He blanched at that before saying, "Fortunately for me, that's all old news. My father has already heard those particular rumors already, if you remember. It's what got me shipped off to military school."

"That's true James, good point," I said.

"You know though Alice, I have to wonder if he heard _all_ the rumors? It seems to me that there was one of two that might have missed his attention," Edward said.

" Well Edward, if that's true, if there's something you know that the rest of us might have missed out on, maybe now is the time to share," I said.

"You might be right Alice. After all, we don't want to see anything else get hurt because of my unwillingness to speak up," he finished.

James, flustered and visibly upset, finally cut it. It was clear that he knew exactly what we were referring to by this point.

"Drop the act, assholes. What do you want? What do I have to do so you keep your fucking mouths shut?" James asked.

"Stay away from Bella Swan, James. If you want to come after one, or both of us, fine, but she's innocent here. Don't use her in your games, and don't hurt her to get to us," I said.

"Stay away from her, and you won't force us to play our hand. We can all go about peacefully ignoring each other. Nobody gets hurt, and no unfortunate rumors start," Edward explained.

"Fuckers. My friendship with the Swan girl has nothing to do with you, stay the fuck out of it," he spat out.

"That might be true James, if we believed that your intentions with her were good. We don't though, and we're not willing to take the chance, not with her. You stay away from her, and we keep our mouths shut, and your father never has to know about your little incident last year," I said.

"What the fuck do you care for anyway? She's not a part of your precious little family, so why should it fucking matter to you?" he asked.

"She's important to us, to all of us. She's our friend. We won't sit back and watch you fuck with her, James," Edward said.

"Even if I stayed away from her, you can't stop her from staying away from me if she wants to. There's only so much control you have asshole, and if she wants to be around me, and I think she will, I'm not going to stop her," James said.

Edward turned and finally faced James, a big smirk crossing his face, and I knew he was about to push James to his limit.

"That might have been true yesterday James, but not today. Yesterday Bella didn't know the truth about you, today she does. Trust me when I say she'll be keeping her distance from you from now on," he said.

"You fucking bastard. Couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut could you? Well you just fucked up dickhead. Before I was only mildly annoyed, now however I'm fucking pissed. You will fucking pay for this," James said.

"Just leave it alone James. Let's just call us even, and let it drop. We all have better things to do with our time," I said.

"Shut the fuck up Alice. We're not even, this isn't over, and I promise you, you will both come to regret this before we're done," he spat at me.

"Just remember James, when it comes to your little games I'm always one step ahead of you. If you try to fuck with us, any of us, I'll be there to block you before you move. This is one game you're not going to win," I said, annoyed now at the direction the conversation had taken.

"You better hope for your own sake that you're right Alice, because I'm going to do my best to bring you to your knees bitch. Exactly where you deserve to be," he said.

"Talk to my sister like that again, shitheel, and I'll fuck you up so bad you won't be able to remember your fucking name, yet alone your empty threats to us," Edward cut in, his temper flaring.

"Just remember this conversation, mother fucker, because I promise you there will come a day when you will fucking regret it," James returned.

"I'll deal with that day when it comes. But James? If you so much as even look at Bella Swan wrong I swear to you that I will first beat you to within an inch of your life, and then let the world, and your father, know what kind of sick bastard you really are," Edward finished.

I smiled sweetly at James, before saying, "All right, well it looks like we're all on the same page here then. I don't think there's anything further that needs saying. James, I can't tell you how nice these little conversations are. It's been a pleasure, as always."

With that I pushed up off of the locker I had been leaning on, and started walking away. I knew without having to look that Edward was following close behind.

Once out of view of James I turned to Edward, to see what he thought. We only had about a minute or two before the first bell rung, so this would have to be quick.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"We're going to have to watch our backs very carefully. We have to make sure the others know as well. None of us can let our guards down. Hopefully though he'll take our threat seriously, and will leave Bella alone. If we managed to accomplish that I'll be happy," he said.

"I think we should keep a close eye on Bella for the day at least. His anger might cause him to take a risk he normally wouldn't," I said.

"Yeah, as soon as we can we need to let the others know. We should close ranks for the day, just in case," he explained.

"All right, let's try to catch up with everyone as soon as we can. You're the first one to see Bella again, so bring her up to speed when you guys have class together. Hopefully today will go smoothly, but I don't want to take any chances," I said.

He nodded and we turned to head off in our separate directions, when he stopped me from leaving.

"Watch your back Alice, let's not let him sneak up on us today," he said.

"No worries, brother mine. My eyes will be wide open today. James never was good at sneaking up behind me anyway," I said before I walked off.

It was true. I didn't even need my little talent to stay a step ahead of James. I have always been able to read him like an open book, even more so than Edward was able to. I wasn't sure why, it was just something that came naturally to me.

It had always really pissed James off, even back when we were all really close. He hated anyone knowing what he was thinking, or what he was about to do, and he hated that I always seemed to know exactly what was going on in his mind.

I knew that would put me the most at risk in our little game. If he was going to come after any of our family, I was pretty sure it would be me. As much as I knew he'd want to screw with Edward, it was me he'd want to see drop out of the game first.

Without me guiding the pieces this game of chess would be mostly one-sided, with James dominating the play, and we couldn't have that.

I made it to my first class of the day before the bell rang, and I worried about Bella having to face James alone for the first time after our little confrontation with him. I wished that we could have somehow avoided that, but hadn't seen a way around it. Mostly though, I wondered what James's next move would be.

Whatever happened, whatever move he made, we would handle it as a unit, as a family. I knew that we would get through this, because together we were stronger than James alone could ever hope to be.

**A/N:**

_So, what did you all think of the confrontation? Did you enjoy the Jasper/Alice scene, or was it just a distraction? Let me know what you thought! I love to hear your feedback._

_Anyway, as usual, thanks so much for your wonderful reviews. You guys have really seemed to open up in them, and I'm definitely enjoying how conversational everyone has gotten! It makes checking my mail the best part of my day. ;o)_

_Gonna skip Q&A today, I'm running out of time and want to get this posted. Hope you don't mind! I figured you'd rather have the chapter up then a couple of Q&A's. All right, again, thanks everyone!_

_Bella says she will see you next go around, and she hopes you'll lend her support for her first class with James! _


	22. Chapter 22

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, not me.**

**A/N:**

_Okay, so here's what happened, for all of you wondering why it took me so long to update lol. Last chapter I said that Bella would be up next, and then when I went to write out the next chapter I realized that Edward was actually supposed to be up next. The problem was that I had Bella's chapter planned out, and nothing in the story ready for Edward at that point. So I tried to write a sort of filler chapter, since I definitely wanted to cover Bella's conversation with James and didn't want to skip that for her turn, but I basically ended up with writer's block. Last night I finally just determined that the order would have to be switched this go around, otherwise I'd be stuck at this stand still indefinitely. So, although it's poor Edward's turn this is Bella's chapter. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, and sorry this is Bella when it's supposed to be Edward! If it makes you feel better this chapter is a little longer than usual, to make up for the wait a bit._

_You'll be happy to know that I wasn't slacking off in the meantime. While I was stuck on this chapter I went ahead and wrote out the last chapter of the story. Before you freak out, no, we're not there yet, but I know exactly how it's going to end, and had it all worked out in my head so figured I'd type it out before I forgot (it's been known to happen). _

_Anyway, guess that's it. As usual, thank you all for reading, and a big thanks for everyone taking the time out of their day to review. :o)_

_**************************************************  
_

_**Bella**_

After Alice and Edward went off to find James the rest of us headed over to Emmett's locker to wait for first class to start.

I had to admit to myself that I was freaking out a little. I had no idea how their conversation with James would go, but I didn't think it would be good. Then, of course, I had third period to look forward to, seeing James for the first time after all of this and by myself. I wished, not for the first time, that I could just skip over this whole day.

The only thing that calmed me down was the fact that I had second period with Edward, so I knew I at least wouldn't have to square off with James without getting a report on their conversation. I wasn't prepared to go into that situation blind, at all.

Once we hit Emmett's locker Jasper went off to drop his stuff at his own locker before heading back. Rosalie however had the locker next to Emmett's which, I had a feeling, wasn't a coincidence.

Emmett opened his locker, then turned to me saying, "Hand over any of your stuff you want me to keep hold of for you Bells. I'll give you my locker combo if you want, so you can get your stuff later without worrying about finding me first."

I went through my books, picking out what I'd need for first period then handed him the rest. I had brought most of my books home with me last night since I had been hoping to get caught up on some of my studying.

Rosalie closed her locker then looked over at me saying, "Bella, I think you should consider using Emmett's locker for the day, or if you'd be more comfortable Alice's even. I just think you should minimize your exposure to James for the day at least, and maybe for a couple of days. There's nothing you can do about the classes you share with him, but you can avoid your locker for a little while at least. Do you have books in there you'll need to get to anytime soon? Can you wait till one of us gets a chance to walk over there with you to get anything you need?"

I'm sure my face must have showed my shock. I could tell that Rose had been starting to finally thaw towards me, but I didn't think it was to the point where she would be worried about my safety. I could see that Em was just as shocked as I was, but then he broke into a big grin and put his arm around Rosalie, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

I recovered finally, saying, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. It doesn't really matter whose locker I would use. Whoever is the most comfortable with sharing with me is fine by me. I probably won't need to get into my locker until fourth period or so."

"Okay, well then why don't you just use Emmett's or my locker, we're better situated in terms of location so we tend to all meet here throughout the day anyway. One of us will meet you after your third period class to walk with you to your locker," she said.

"That would be great because third period is my class with James. It would definitely make things a lot easier for me if I had a reason to avoid him after class. I'm already not looking forward to that class, it'll help if I know I won't have to deal with him after class too. Thanks Rosalie," I said.

She smiled at me, I think probably for the first time since we'd met, before she answered. "Not a problem. And Bella? You can call me Rose if you want."

Wow. I couldn't believe that this was the same Rosalie I'd been dealing with over the past few weeks. She'd never been rude to me, but she hadn't been exactly welcoming either. For the most part she just ignored me whenever I was near her, but she didn't stop Emmett from trying to hang around me and for that at least I was grateful. This new Rosalie was going to take a little while for me to get used to though.

"All right, Rose it is then," I said, smiling back at her.

Just then Jasper cam back over to us, asking "So did I miss anything? What are you guys talking about?"

"The girls were just making a plan for the day. Bella's going to ditch her locker for a few days, using mine so that she can avoid James as much as possible. One of us will need to meet up with her between third and fourth period to walk her to her locker and to probably rescue her from James, since that's their first class of the day together," Emmett answered.

"Sounds good. Who will meet her? I think it should probably be either you or Edward, Emmett. If he gives her a hard time it needs to be someone a little more intimidating, so one of us guys, and you and Edward have more of a history with James than I do, which means you'll be better prepared for dealing with him," Jasper said.

"I'm pretty damn intimidating," Rose cut in before Emmett could answer.

Jasper turned to her answering before Emmett was forced to try to come up with an answer to that.

"While most people are scared out of their mind around you Rose, you have to remember who you're dealing with here. James isn't like everyone else, he's not going to be intimidated easily. Emmett has his size to use to his advantage, and while Edward is bigger than James it's really his knowledge of James that would come in handy. I would say that only Alice knows James as well as Edward," he answered.

"He's right babe. We need to out-think James, today especially. We don't know how he'll act and it's just better going the cautious route," Emmett explained to her.

"All right, so either Edward or I will meet up with you after your third class, Bella. Then we'll escort you over to your locker so you can get everything you'll need for the next few days, and walk you to class, just to be on the safe side," he finished with.

"What other classes do you have with James?" Rose asked.

"Well besides third period, and lunch of course, the only other class is last period, when I have Gym with him," I answered.

Gym was really the class I was dreading the most. It would be too easy for him to spend the whole class talking to me if he wanted to.

"All right, well, lunch isn't a big deal, you'll just sit at our table today. I doubt he'll make a move if you're surrounded by us," Jasper answered.

I raised my eyebrow at him in question. This would be a first, and despite everything that had happened between yesterday and today, I wasn't really comfortable invading Edward's territory after so many weeks of avoiding it.

"It's not a problem Bella. The only thing Edward will be thinking of today is keeping you away from James. I doubt he'd let you sit at your regular table even if you tried," he answered.

I wasn't really assured, but I figured I'd deal with it when the time came. At the very least maybe he and Alice would be willing to sit with me today.

"So that just leaves Gym then," he continued.

"Leave that to me," Rose said.

"What are you going to do?" Emmett asked her.

"I'm going to get her out of Gym class. I've got a favor I can call in, I'll get us both an early dismissal and Bella can drive me back to our house. We'll meet the rest of you guys there once school let's out," she answered.

"Who owes you a favor and for what? And why haven't you used it to pull me out of class before?" Emmett asked.

"Mrs. Clarkson from the office owes me one. You know that new saloon in Port Angeles? Well it's really, _really_, hard to get into. There's like a five month wait or something. Anyway, I know the girl who owns the place so I can get in there whenever I want. One day I was heading in to get my hair done when I bumped into Mrs. Clarkson on her way out. She'd heard about the place and wanted to try to get in, but was denied because she didn't have an appointment. She was so disappointed that I felt bad for her, and brought her in with me. We ended up getting our hair done together. She was so happy with the results that I told her when she wanted to go back to let me know and I'd make sure she could get in again," Rose explained.

"She told me if I ever needed a favor to just ask and she'd see what she could do. I didn't call it in before now because I was saving it for a rainy day, so to speak. You should be happy I waited too, because now I can use it to get Bella out of class," she finished.

"Well, can't you get me out too? What's one more person after all? I'm sure she'd be happy to let me out with you guys," Emmett said.

"Because someone played a joke on her last month and completely filled her car with packing peanuts one day, and she strongly suspects that person was you Emmett Cullen. I'd need two more favors just to get _you_ out of class, so you can forget it," she said.

Emmett started laughing, I was sure at the memory of filling Mrs. Clarkson's car with packing peanuts, the first I'd heard of that particular incident. Before he could sidetrack the conversation anymore I cut it.

"Rose, I don't want you to have to use your favor on me. I'm sure I'll handle Gym okay, and I'll have to face him there eventually," I said.

"It's not a problem Bella. I really don't mind, and it would give me a chance to get to know you better. You'll still have to face James tomorrow, but at least he'll have a night to cool down and hopefully forget about you some," she said.

"Well, if you're sure. Thanks Rose, that's really nice," I said.

And it was really nice. Apparently once Rose decided she liked you she did a complete one-eighty.

"All right, so then we have a plan for today. We'll tell Alice and Edward about it the first chance we get. Are you sure you'll be okay during third period Bella? It's not too late to just bail for the day. One of us could bail with you and take you back to our house. Esme's there, but if we explained the situation to her she probably wouldn't make a big deal about one of us skipping with you for the day," Jasper said.

"No, it's fine. Look, I appreciate everything you guys are doing for me here, but I can't avoid this all together. I'm eventually going to have to face him, it might as well be today. Gym was the only class I was really dreading, and now I don't even have to worry about that. You guys are great, I'll be fine," I said.

"Okay good, we're set then. First period is about to start any minute so we need to wrap this up. Bells, here's my locker combination so you can get into it between classes. Don't feel weird about it or anything, what's mine is yours and all that. Either me or Edward will see you between third and fourth, and if it's Edward then I'll see you at lunch," Emmett said as he handed me a piece of paper with his combination on it.

I nodded my head and thanked him, before heading off. I couldn't believe how lucky I was in my friends here. Life was definitely a lot different than it had been in Phoenix.

***************************************

I had calmed down a little by the time second period rolled around. It helped having a plan, and knowing that I was going to get a free pass with Gym today. I headed to Trig, the class I had with Edward, and hoped he'd give me an update on what had happened that morning.

When I got to the classroom Edward wasn't there yet, so I sat down and waited for him. Shortly after that he walked in and headed over to his seat, right next to mine.

"Hey," I said.

It still felt weird actually talking to him, even more so to actually be the one to initiate the conversation. I hadn't moved past everything that had happened, and I still didn't consider him a friend yet, but I was willing to put everything else on hold for the time while we navigated through this whole James situation.

"Hey. Everything going okay so far?" he asked.

"Yeah, no problems. How'd things go this morning? What happened?" I asked, wanting to focus on his side of things.

"It went okay, though we won't know for sure until we see how he reacts. We told him to stay away from you, and that if he didn't we'd tell his father what he did to the dog. It's the only effective threat I could think of since I know any hint of trouble and his dad would ship him off again. He's kind of psycho about anything tainting their name. He's kind of a bigwig in the area, and they're a very old family. Anyway, he seemed to take that seriously. Then we told him that you knew about the little incident too, so that you'd be doing your best to avoid him as much as possible," he said.

I closed my eyes for a second in regret. This was the only part of the plan I felt bad about. I felt like I should have been the one to tell him why I was avoiding him. I knew though that it wasn't my secret to tell, that it was better coming from Edward.

Edward must have noticed my reaction because he cut in, saying, "I know this isn't the way you wanted it to play out Bella, and truly I'm sorry it had to be this way, but it did. I know him well and this will be the most effective way to deal with him. I doubt he'll care who it came from, me or you, either way he's going to be pissed. The only other option wasn't acceptable. I won't let him play his games with you. I won't sit back and watch him hurt you. So this was how we had to do it," he said.

"I know, I just feel bad about it. I feel like I should have given him more of a chance since he hasn't done anything with me to justify this kind of reaction, but I trust you guys on this, so I'm going to avoid him. That doesn't mean, however, that I won't feel a little guilty about it," I explained.

"You shouldn't. Trust me, his intentions here weren't good. When it comes to James you're just better off safe than sorry," he said.

I sighed in frustration, knowing he was right but still feeling like shit about it all. I was saved from having to answer though when class started.

I spent the next hour thinking over everything that had happened in the past two days, regretting that I had ever caught James's attention yesterday. It would have been so much easier if I had known then what I knew about him now.

I thought about the change in Rosalie, grateful that she had finally dropped her walls with me. I'd heard a lot of great things about her from Emmett, who was clearly very deeply in love with her. It bothered me that one of my closest friends had a girlfriend who didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me. Alice and Em had just kept telling me to give her time, that she would come around eventually. It seemed like this whole James situation had helped to make her change her mind about me.

Then I thought about the change in Edward. I might be able to pretend with Rose that the past three weeks hadn't happened, but I couldn't do the same with Edward. Rose might have ignore me for the most part but she had never hurt me. She certainly hadn't been what you would call friendly, but while she ignored me she was never rude. I think Emmett's friendship with me had kept her in check.

Edward though had hurt me and he had definitely been rude. He had some ground to make up before I would consider him a friend, but if I was being honest with myself I knew he was already starting to make up some lost ground. The way he was handling the James situation, going out of his way to make sure I didn't get hurt because of it, made me at least admit that he probably deserved a second chance. That didn't mean that I was ready to forgive and forget though, he hadn't made up _that _much lost ground yet.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class I started to gather up my things, the dread for third period finally starting to set in.

Edward turned to me saying, "I'll walk you to your next class and we can finish talking on the way."

I shook my head in agreement and stood up to walk with him.

"So Emmett caught up to me and told me about your plan for the day. I'll be the one meeting you after this class. As much as I know Emmett is dying to have a little show down with James, I think it will be more effective if it's me there. He'll be less likely to try to provoke me than he would Emmett. He has a history of trying to get under Emmett's skin, and succeeding," he explained.

"All right, whatever you guys think is best. You know him much better than I do," I said.

"I think Rose's plan for your last class is a good one. He probably won't cause you any problems, but it's just better not taking any chances for the moment," he said.

We were almost at my class when he paused and stood off to the side of the hallway. I followed him wondering what was up.

"Let's just wait out here for a moment. There's still a minute or two before class starts, and there's no reason you have to head in there until the bell is about to ring," he explained.

"Okay, but you don't have to wait with me. I'll be fine from here," I answered.

"I'll wait. You're going to sit with us at lunch right?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, I hadn't made a decision. Jasper asked me that earlier but I'm not really sure how to act around you yet Edward. This has been a weird turn around for me, and everything is happening really quickly. I'm not really getting the time I need to process everything and decide what I'm thinking," I said, figuring honesty wouldn't hurt.

"I promise to be on my best behavior if you sit with us. It would mean a lot to me, and I know all of us would feel a little more secure if you were at our table. I know you need time, I'm not trying to rush you on anything. I plan on trying to win you over Isabella Swan, but I don't plan on trying to do it in one day. I'll give you some time to adjust to things before I start chasing after you. For today let's just say I'm concerned over your safety, okay?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him a little, but couldn't fault him for his honesty when I had been just as honest with him. I reminded myself that just because he decided to try to win me over that didn't mean he had to be successful. I was the one who decided that.

In the end I just shook my head in agreement, knowing that after everything the Cullen's were doing for me that the least I could do was sit with them at lunch so they wouldn't have to worry about me anymore than they already did.

Edward smiled, though I thought his smile looked suspiciously like a smirk, then checked his watch.

"All right Bella, time for me to head off. Good luck. I'll be waiting for you when your class is done," he said and then turned around and headed off down the hall.

I took a deep breath, hoping to get my courage up, before I turned to walk into the class. I figured it was now or never, and before I gave myself the chance to chicken out I walked through the door.

***************************************************

When I entered the classroom I saw James already sitting in the seat behind mine. I prepared myself for what would probably end up being at the very least a very awkward conversation and went and sat down, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

He leaned forward in my seat and said in my ear, "We need to talk, you and I."

Just then though class started and I thought I was going to be saved, until we were told to pair up into teams of two and go over a question and answer review sheet that was being passed around in preparation for our big exam coming up. I looked around hopefully, but I should have known better than to even bother.

"Don't even think about it Swan, we need to talk and it might as well be now," James said.

I knew he was right, that it was better to get it over with now rather than later, but I stood up and turned my desk around with a sense of dread, wishing that I could have somehow avoided this.

I picked up the review sheet and went to start in on the questions we were supposed to be working on when he cut me off.

"Nice try. The review can wait a few minutes," he said.

"What do you want me to say James? Edward and Alice had my permission to speak for me this morning, so you already know where I stand," I said.

"What happened to you coming to me with any rumors you heard? Wasn't that just yesterday you promised you would do that for me?" he spat out

"This wasn't a rumor, and you know why it had to come from Edward and Alice instead of me. Anyway, what could you have possibly said to change the outcome of all of this?" I asked.

"How do you know they're not lying to you?" he asked.

"Because I trust Alice beyond a doubt. Are you denying what they said?" I asked.

I could tell he was agitated at this. He seemed to be shifting around in his seat a lot, as if he was finding it hard to sit still for this.

"I don't understand what the big deal is, it was just a fucking dog. Why do you care so much?" he said.

I was shocked that he would so openly admit what he'd done, and more so at the vehemence in his voice when he said it.

"Because James, it's a little scary. People don't beat dogs like that, it's a bad sign. Look, I'm sorry but I think you should think about seeing a psychiatrist. I know we don't really know each other, but it sounds like you have anger issues. It couldn't hurt to have someone to talk to," I said.

"I don't need to see a fucking psychiatrist Swan. I'm not fucking crazy and I'm not the monster you all seem to want to make me into," he spit out.

In that moment I felt sorry for him. I could see how it would look to him, like we were calling him some kind of monster or freak. Once again I wished there had been another way of handling this, one that had taken James's feelings more into consideration, but I hadn't been able to come up with any alternatives.

"Nobody is trying to make you out to be a monster James, but it doesn't hurt to have a sympathetic ear to go to when things become overwhelming and a psychiatrist would be someone to listen when you needed it," I said sympathetically.

"Fuck you Swan. Don't patronize me," he said.

"I'm not patronizing you James. I understand you're pissed off at me, but if you continue to talk to me like that this conversation is over. I'm just trying to be honest with you," I said.

"Fine. You're right, this conversation is over with. I thought you were different Swan. I thought you were better than the rest of these assholes. You made me believe that you were willing to give me a fucking chance, but obviously I had you pegged wrong. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up yesterday, but you seemed different from all the other jokers here. It was my fault though for thinking that you would be able to last longer then a full fucking twenty-four hours before dropping me like a bad act. You and the fucking Cullen's deserve each other," he spat out.

And with that he stood up and walked out of class, with fifteen minutemen minutes still left before the bell rang. The whole class turned to look at me, having caught the end of his tirade, where his voice had picked up some volume.

I stared blankly back at them, not really knowing what else to do, as the teacher yelled after James, trying to make him come back to class.

"Fuck off asshole," James called over his shoulder before disappearing out the door.

Well, that could have probably gone better.

I looked at my classmates and shrugged my shoulders a little in answer to the unspoken question, then picked up my review sheet and pretended to study. I was pretty sure that this little incident would be broadcasted around school by the end of the day, but there wasn't much I could do about that and I wasn't willing to try explaining what had happened to anyone. I was sure that would only make things worse anyway. Let them come up with their own explanations for James's outburst.

I spent the next couple of minutes ignoring the pointed looks in my direction and was more than a little bit relieved when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class. Longest fifteen minutes ever.

When I walked out the door it was to find Edward already waiting for me and I wondered how he had managed to get to my class so quickly. He walked over to me and looked me over questioningly, then scanned the area, I was sure looking for James.

"He left a couple of minutes ago. We got paired up and I ended up with James. We talked and then he sort of lost his temper a little before he got up and just walked out of class," I explained.

Edward went completely stiff for a second before asking, "What did he say to you?"

"It's not a big deal, he was just venting some of his anger with me. I don't really blamed him, I haven't really treated him very well," I explained.

"What did he say, Bella?" he asked again.

I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to let this drop.

"He basically said he had thought I was different, and that I deserved you guys," I said, giving him the abridged version.

He stared at me, obviously realizing there was a lot more to it than that, but in the end decided to let it drop.

"I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of all of this," he said.

"It's okay Edward. It's not like you had any control over this, it just happened. The worst is over now anyway, I think," I said.

"Let's hope so. Anyway, come on I'll walk you to your locker and your next class," he said.

" I really think I'm okay now Edward. I doubt he'll approach me again anytime soon. I'll still move to Emmett's locker for a few days, but you can probably head off to your own class if you want. I'm sure I'll be fine," I said.

"Bella, don't think for one minute that I'm about to let my guard down. We're not through this yet, trust me. You haven't seen the last of James, and you're too precious to me for me to take any chances with. You're just going to have to let me hover for a little while," he said.

I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't offer a protest. I honestly didn't think I would have any problems with James from this point on, but it's not like I knew for sure one way or another. It made sense to be cautious until we saw how James would react after he had a little time to think things over.

I was already ready for a little normalcy again. I didn't like everyone hovering around me, feeling the need to watch over me like I was a child or something. The only thing that kept me from getting annoyed with everyone for being over-protective was the realization that the last time James had gotten angry with someone he had crashed their car into a lake and blew up their locker. It was a sobering thought. I could deal with a lot on my own, but not someone who reacted like that. That just wasn't rational.

So I sucked it up and let Edward walk me to my locker and next class, even though my brain was yelling out at me that I was a totally capable human being who was able to get herself to her own locker and next class without having to be babysat. I reminded my inner independent woman that as strong and as capable as I was I had never had to deal with someone like James before.

I turned and headed off to my locker, Edward walking next to me. I'd let him hover for the moment, but only for as long as I felt in was absolutely necessary. After that we'd have to reevaluate things. I knew I'd probably end up having to reevaluate our relationship by then too, and decide once and for all if I was willing to be Edward's friend.

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**A/N:**

_Skipping Q&A again today because of time restraint. I only have a minute or so. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and again sorry for the wait! Next chapter will definitely be up tomorrow, promise. _

_All right, I'm off to watch Twilight. My copy JUST came in today! I've been not-so-patiently waiting for it since Saturday, so you can imagine how excited I am right now. Did you all get your copies yet? Did everyone spend the weekend watching it? lol_

_Anyway, thanks so much everyone! Love to hear what you thought about this one._

_Edward and his missed turn will be up next!  
_


	23. Chapter 23

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer**

**Edward**

When I walked into the cafeteria that day it was just in time to see Bella heading to her usual table, which was unacceptable. I had thought that this had already been decided on, but I needed to learn not to take anything for granted when it came to Isabella Swan.

I walked up behind her and reached around and grabbed her tray, taking it out of her hands. She turned around to protest but stopped when she saw it was me.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked.

"To my table to eat, like always," she answered.

"Yeah, except today you're sitting at our table. And don't bother arguing, even if I let you go the others wouldn't," I said.

"All right. I don't have a problem with it or anything, I just didn't want to invade anyone's territory," she explained.

I smiled a little at that, saying, "Please, invade away."

With that I pointed the way to our table, then followed her as she started walking in that direction.

"So, no more problems since I last say you? Nothing unexpected happen?" I asked.

"You just saw me at the beginning of last period, no, nothing happened since then," she said.

"Good, I didn't think anything would, but you never know," I said.

We had made it to our table by this time and we both took seats, everyone greeting Bella as she sat down.

I looked around at my family and smiled to myself. For the first time since we had moved here I felt complete, as if all of my pieces had finally fallen into place. I knew this had everything to do with the woman sitting next to me and I wondered how I ever could have fought this feeling off, even if for only a little while.

I understood now why my family always seemed so content with life, even while the people around them were shunning them as freaks. It was because the people around them had ceased to matter, their importance faded away, unable to compete with the love they felt for their partners.

I looked over at Bella, watching as she interacted with my family, already very much a part of it herself. She fit with us, with them. They had banded around her, realizing before I did that it was useless to fight a connection with her.

I watched as she joked with Emmett, as she whispered something to Alice, as she smiled shyly at Rose, I saw her pull Jasper into the conversation, apparently aware that he often took a backseat to the others. With each thing I noticed about her my heart grew a little more.

This was the woman I loved, the woman who had captured my heart even though I hadn't wanted it to be caught. She went from stranger to the center of my world in just a matter of weeks, and though I had fought it, I couldn't be happier now.

I knew that nothing I would have gone off looking for in the world, nothing that I could have run towards to get away from this place, would have brought me as much happiness as Bella did. The best part was, my feelings were still unreciprocated, meaning that if I managed to win her love everything I was feeling now would only intensify.

That thought made me even more determined. I knew what it was that I was fighting for here. I knew what my winning would mean, for the both of us. I was sure that this would be an epic love story, and I was not willing to walk away from that without the fight of my life.

When you found your Juliet you didn't simply walk away, you fought with everything you had. I had found mine, and I was sure as hell going to do everything in my power to find a happier ending for us than those star-crossed lovers had.

I closed my eyes for a second, thinking of the emptiness I had felt just a few short weeks ago, how it had been tearing me apart. I hadn't even known what the problem was, I had had no ideas on what would make me feel better. I was floundering around in the dark, hoping that my guess was right and that all I needed was some distance between me and Forks.

It was then that the solution walked into my life, all on her own, and I was too stupid, too scared, to see for myself what she would mean to me. I had almost ruined my chance, almost ruined my life, because of my fear.

No more. I knew when James had showed up that I was willing to lose almost anything but her. I wanted to smack myself for realizing it so late, and for risking so much over my fear, but I didn't think it was too late for us, I hoped it wasn't anyway.

She still was fighting me, still denying a possible friendship even at this point, but I was willing to wait her out. I had the advantage, I knew how good this thing between us could be, and I knew that would keep me motivated. I wouldn't lose my Bella, not now that I had found her.

I looked up to see Alice looking at me, with a slight smile on her face. She didn't say anything, just looked at me for a few seconds, but it was enough for me to understand what she had been thinking. I knew she had picked up on my feelings, that she understood now that I had finally come to terms with my love for Bella.

I smiled back, not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough for Alice to see. I then just barely nodded my head in acknowledgement, letting her know that she wasn't imagining things, before I turned away so that the others wouldn't pick up on anything.

I had the sudden urge to reach over and grab Bella's hand under the table. I wondered briefly what she would do if I tried it.

Before I could stop myself I reached over slowly, so that the others wouldn't notice, and put my hand over hers, just barely touching it. I froze, waiting to see what her reaction would be, watched as she tilted her head towards me in question, yet not making a move to stop me. It wasn't exactly encouragement, but neither was it rejection.

I paused briefly before then wrapping my fingers around her hand, slowly lifting it up as I did so. When she allowed me to lift her hand I entwined her fingers with mine, then lowered both of our hands back down so that they were resting on her leg, and waited to see how she would react.

She had been still through all of this, pretending to listen to Emmett tell a story, but I knew that all of her focus was on our silent interaction. When our hands finally entwined I could see her look over at me out of the corner of her eyes weighing her next actions.

Decision apparently made, the corners of her mouth turned up in the slightest smile, and then I watched as she shifted her attention back over to the conversation going on around her, leaving our hands entwined.

I felt my insides soar. It was the smallest concession, but I knew it was a vastly important one.

Until this moment she had been denying any kind of connection with me, had made it clear that she didn't view me as a friend yet, that she hadn't forgiven me for my past behavior. While all of this still remained true I knew that she had finally decided to allow me my chance. She hadn't written me completely off, she was going to let me fight for her.

I wanted to jump up in joy, but instead I held still, trying to keep from scaring her off. As I sat there holding her hand I scanned the thoughts of the students around me, trying to distract myself.

I listened to them as a whole, then picked out individuals when something would catch my attention. Besides yesterday in the cafeteria with James, this was pretty much the first time I had willingly used my ability in weeks, since Bella had showed up. I let myself bounce from person to person, remembering again what it felt like to pick up their thoughts.

I ended with our table, which was when I finally noticed that while I should have been hearing Bella's thoughts all I was getting was silence. There was nothing coming from her and I looked over at her confused.

People rarely thought nothing. Even when they weren't thinking their minds tended to wander over little things, unintentionally often. It took a lot of focus to clear your mind of all thoughts, most people were just unable to do so without practice.

Which is why it was so odd that I was picking nothing up on Bella. She was interacting with my family, so she should have been focused on their conversation, should have been thinking about what they were saying. I was getting nothing though, it was like she wasn't there sitting next to me.

I was confused and was about to demand her to tell me what she was thinking just then, a decision I'm sure would have been a mistake, when Emmett cut me off, probably saving me from myself.

"I think James is going to be a no-show for lunch guys. I haven't seen him come in, and I've been looking for him," he said.

I realized that I hadn't even been thinking about James, which was a mistake on my part. He should be at the center of my mind right now, while he presented a danger to Bella.

"He left third period class early," Bella answered, " I think he might have ditched at that point. He was already going to be in trouble anyway since he had gotten up and left before class was done, with the teacher yelling at him the entire time too. Rose, if you want to not cut out of last period that should be fine. I doubt he'll show up for it," she said.

"No, let's not take any chances Bella. Plus, I'm kind of looking forward to it now. I got it in my head that we were leaving early, so let's just go ahead anyway. That way we know for sure that you won't have to deal with him," Rose answered.

I was thankful to her, knowing Bella would accept it easier coming from her than from me.

"All right, if you still want to. Honestly, I have no problems with skipping Gym. I'm pretty much a hazard to everyone around me there. I don't know why they make me participate anymore, one of these days I'm going to end up taking someone out," Bella said.

I smiled at the image of Bella trying to make it through Gym without maiming anyone around her. She was a bit of a klutz, but it made her all the more endearing. Just one more thing to add to her list of charms.

"I wonder what his next move will be though," I cut in, shifting the conversation back to James.

"I don't know yet, but I know this isn't over with. He's feeling wounded right now and I'd bet good money that he's going to lash out. We need to stay alert. His bailing today isn't a good sign either, it means he's probably going to come in tomorrow riding out his emotions still," Alice said.

"Anyway, Bella and I have Bio together next and then her and Rose are cutting out and heading back to our house, so for a little while at least I think we can take a break from the worrying and strategizing," I said.

I didn't want us to be in this constant state of worry. We needed to be cautious, yes, but I didn't want it taking over our lives. Bella would be safe, I would make sure of it.

"Bells, why don't you stay at our house for dinner? You can call the Chief later, to let him know. It'll be nice having you around our house for once, and you can meet our dad, Carlisle," Emmett said.

"Your parents won't mind?" she asked.

"Not at all, Esme would love it if you stayed and I know Carlisle has been wanting to meet you now for a while," Jasper answered.

"Well, all right then, sounds good to me. Charlie won't mind, he'll probably actually enjoy having the house to himself for a little while," she answered.

After that the conversation drifted to other things as lunch ran down. I let the others dominate the conversation, content to hold Bella's hand while watching her interaction with my family.

The bell rang and Bella pulled her hand back so that she could gather her stuff. I was expecting it, but still, I had to stop myself from instinctively reaching out and grabbing her hand back. That's the thing about love, once you find it you never want to let go.

I sighed, but then gathered my own stuff and stood up to head off to class.

"Walk you to Bio, Bella?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Do you need to go to your locker?" she asked.

"No, you?" I asked in return.

"No, well technically it's Emmett's locker, but I went before lunch," she answered.

"All right, Bio it is then," I said as we headed off, saying our goodbyes to the others first.

"So, how are you doing, really? Is the stress from the situation starting to wear on you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. It's not an ideal situation, that's for sure, but I'll survive. I'm more worried about the toll it's taking on everyone else. I don't want everyone stressed out because of me," she answered.

"It's not because of you, it's because of James. Remember too, that it's our history with him, mine in particular, that's brought you into this. The only one you should be focused on is yourself," I said.

"Truthfully, I'm more uncomfortable than worried. I mean, I understand that he's dangerous, but I don't think I feel it the same way you guys do. You were there, you witnessed everything first hand so it's more real to you. I'm hearing about everything much after the fact, and it takes on this surreal quality. The warnings and the realization that James is dangerous are there, but I doubt it's to the same degree it is with you guys," she explained.

"I guess that's understandable. It's hard for me, I have to remind myself that you don't _know_ James, that you're trusting our assessment of him. I'm just glad that you believed me about him," I said.

"It was really Alice that I believed. She's my best friend, I trust her to look out for me, just as I would look out for her. If it wasn't for her I actually don't know if I would have listened to you or not. For all I knew it was your hatred of James spurring on your warnings," she said.

I smiled a little at her correction, her reminder of where we stood, and her loyalty to my sister.

"I'm glad you believed Alice then," I said.

We had gotten to the classroom by this point so we went in to take our seats, continuing on with our conversation while we waited for class to start.

"I'm glad you became friends with Alice. I know how much it meant to her, how much you mean to her. She hides it well, but she was hurt by the rejection of our classmates when she started dating Jaz, and I know she misses having friends outside of our family. She's been so much happier since the two of you started hanging out, so for that I want to say thank you," I said.

"Don't thank me, Alice has done as much for me as I've done for her, probably more so actually. She's my first real friend, did you know that? How pathetic is it that I've never had a real friend? Even as a little kid. We moved around a lot in Phoenix, so I ended up switching schools a bit. I'm pretty sure I've been to every school in that city at least once. It's hard making friends when you move so often, and even harder when you're a little different. I just never fit in anywhere," she explained.

"Then I moved here and Alice just accepts me, befriends me without me even having to try. I have no idea what she saw in me, but I'm grateful that she took a chance I'm actually happier now than I've probably ever been before, even with all the drama right now, because it's the first time I've ever had real friends," she finished.

I couldn't imagine what her life had been like. I felt an overwhelming sadness for her. She was an only child who had grown up without any friends around her. She must have felt so isolated, so alone.

I was thankful that my sister's vision had made Alice aware of her, had given her the courage to try to make friends with Bella, knowing that, like the others, she could have ended up rejecting her for her love of Jasper.

"I'm glad you two found each other. You seem to be exactly why my family needed, without any of us realizing that we were even missing out on anything. Alice isn't the only one who seems happier now because of you. Emmett is constantly in a good mood now, and I know he looks forward to coming to school and hanging out with you. Jasper seems more relaxed, more at ease, I know that he's enjoying watching my sister's happiness. Even Rose is better off because of you. She never lets anyone in, and now she's actually looking forward to hanging out with you today," I explained.

I left out what she had meant to me, because I knew this wasn't yet the time, or the place for my declarations. It would come though, and soon. I wanted her to really understand what I felt about her. I was aware that because of my previous behavior towards her that she felt more confused than anything when it came to me.

I knew that I had to lay everything out for her, even if that meant risking rejection. If she rejected me I would just try again, and if she rejected me again I would just keep on trying.

She was worth it, and I had time still. It was the end result that I cared about, not my pride or ego. If in the end I managed to win her love I knew it would make it all worthwhile. Even if I didn't succeed, I would know that I had tried my hardest, gave it everything I had, and could live without regret.

Class started and so our conversation had to come to an end for the moment. I was glad though that I had gotten some insight into Bella's head, that I learned a little more about her.

The more I learned, the more I was attracted to her. There was no guile to her, no false front, no pretending. What you saw with Bella was what you got. I knew how rare that was.

I was surrounded by duplicity almost constantly, it didn't take long before it started to wear you down. It had created a barrier between me and my classmates. I couldn't stand knowing that they were all saying one thing and thinking another. I couldn't take their pretending to be better people, couldn't stand the lies.

It had become too easy for me to avoid everyone but my family, who I knew to be as good on the inside as they were on the outside. They set the standard too high, making it impossible for me to accept less from the people around us.

I had chosen loneliness over the lies projected by the students around me. I would rather be an outsider that take part in their falsities.

I looked over at Bella, while the teacher droned on, wishing that I could reach out and touch her, to let her know in this moment how thankful I was that she had entered my life. It would have to be enough for me now to know that she was here and to know that we were making progress.

Today had been a better day than yesterday, tomorrow would be better still. I smiled in anticipation. I realized how much things had changed for me, that I was actually anticipating something again, and all because of this girl next to me.

Who knew that one person could so drastically affect your life, and in such a short time? Before Bella arrived I had been coming undone, my pieces scattering around me everywhere. When I met her I shattered, and everything that I had been trying to hold together on my own just fell away.

Slowly, though, the pieces have been coming back together again, this time with Bella as the glue. Because of her I've become a whole person, instead of just fragments. I wanted to tell her this, to tell her everything she meant to me, and all that she had allowed me to do and become.

I would tell her soon, and then I would spend all of my time trying to thank her for everything she had done for me, to thank her for making me feel alive again, for giving me the chance to love…

**************************************************

**A/N:**

_Next chapter will probably be Alice, but I'm not guaranteeing it this time. There are a couple of things I'm working out for the upcoming sections, and I still need to figure out PoV order so that the right people tell the right fragments._


	24. Chapter 24

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_So I lied. It's a Bella chapter, not an Alice one. I did warn that I wasn't sure who it would be though. ;o) It's better like this anyway. I tried writing Alice, but it would have been all filler and no real content, and I wanted to get on with the story._

_Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews! _

_*************************************************  
_

_**Bella**_

As I headed to Gym I wondered how quickly Rose would get me out of class. I didn't want to change into my gym uniform since I was just going to be leaving, but I didn't know how to explain not doing so.

Luckily when I walked past the coach's office she called me in.

"Swan!" she yelled out.

"Yeah, Mrs. Snyder?" I asked.

"Don't bother getting changed, you've been called over to the front office. Take your stuff with you, looks like you got an early dismissal," she said.

I thanked her and headed out, impressed by how quickly Rose worked.

Once outside I headed over to the small building that housed the office. I opened the door to see Rose leaning on the counter chatting to the woman behind it. She turned around and smiled at me before facing back towards the woman behind the counter.

"Here she is Mrs. Clarkson. Thanks again for helping us out, I'll let you know about this weekend, but I'm sure I'll be able to get you in sometime," Rose said.

I thanked Mrs. Clarkson, then we both turned and headed out. Rose and I would drive together in my truck back to her house, where the others would meet us in about an hour or so.

I was a little nervous. This was the first time that Rose and I had ever hung out alone. She still intimidated me a little, even more so without the others around to offer a little support.

We hopped in the truck and I pulled out, already self-conscious about how slow it drove. Rose, I had learned, was one for speed. To make matters worse the radio had broke a few days ago, so we'd be stuck driving in silence.

"So, no more sign of James?" she asked.

"Nope, nothing. I didn't think I'd see him again today after his exit from class earlier. He was really pissed when he stormed out," I said.

"Good. That asshole deserves it, and much more. I can't think of anyone that I hate as much as I do James," she said.

I was surprised by this. Rose seemed to be the least emotional one when it came to the subject of James. She seemed indifferent to him and, in truth, I didn't think her and Jasper had been around that long before James had been shipped off.

"Really?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"I hate him for what he did to my family. Jasper and I had to watch helplessly as he hurt those closest to us. He had been best friends with Alice and Edward and close to Emmett, so when he crashed and burned he took all three of them down with him in a way. I understand he has some problems, but he's a selfish prick. I can't stand him and would love the chance to tear into him one day," she explained.

"I never thought of how hard it must have been for you and Jasper, having to watch all of that unfold and not being able to do anything about it," I said.

"Well, it's not going to happen again this time, that's for sure. This time we know who we're dealing with. I hope he gets himself sent off again, and soon," she said.

As she spoke I had pulled up into her driveway and parked. We both hopped out and started walking to the door and I wondered how Esme was going to react to us skipping last class.

Inside the house Rose called out, trying to locate Esme in the big house.

"Esme? You around?" she almost shouted.

"Rose? What are you doing home? Everything okay?" Esme called back, her voice getting louder as she got closer to us.

Rose answered just as Esme came into view from the direction of her office. "Yeah, everything's fine. Let's go sit in the kitchen and I'll explain."

I got a little nervous, hoping that Rose wouldn't get into trouble because of me. We walked back, Rose and I sitting down at the counter on stools. Esme walked over and stood on the other side, leaning against the counter, looking at us.

Rose told her all about James then, his interest in me, how we thought he wanted to hurt Edward, everything that had been happening. Esme listened patiently, looking at me periodically through the conversation. Although she didn't comment on it, I was sure that she hadn't missed the fact that Rose thought that James hurting me would somehow end up hurting Edward. At that point in Rose's story her perusal of me became more intense, and I thought it looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle in her head.

"So we thought it would be best if Bella and I left a little early. She was only in Gym class and we were just reading Hamlet out loud in English, which I've already read anyway. And that brings us to the present," Rose finished.

"I'm going to let this one go Rosalie, because of the circumstances and because you went through the proper channel, so to speak, to get out of class, instead of just skipping out. But I don't want this to turn into a regular thing, understand?" Esme asked.

"Emergencies only," Rose answered.

"All right then, good enough for me. I have some work to finish up in my office, then I have to run a few errands before dinner. Bella, dear, would you like to join us for dinner tonight?" she asked me.

"I would love to Mrs. Cullen, if it won't cause you any trouble," I said.

"You can just call me Esme, Bella. We're pretty informal around here. It would be no trouble at all, we would love to have you," she said.

I smiled and thanked her before she headed back off to her office.

Rose turned to look at me then, asking, "So what do you want to do until the others get here?"

"Actually, you know what Rose? I've never seen the rest of your house. Would it be all right if you took me on a tour?" I asked.

"I can't believe no one has shown you around yet. That's kind of crazy, but then I forget that you'd been avoiding this place for a few weeks now because of Edward. All right, let's go," she said as she turned and headed towards the front stairs.

So she showed took me up and we toured all of their bedrooms. I was able to guess whose room belonged to whom just by looking in, their personalities definitely showed through.

When we got to Edward's room, the last one on the tour since it was at the far back of the third floor, I spent an extra couple of seconds looking it over. I was trying to figure it out, figure him out.

I knew though that I wouldn't find the answers here, in his empty room. I sighed and turned to follow Rose back down. We had decided to hang out in her room, listening to music, until the others got home.

I finally decided to ask her the question that had been bugging me all day, since I wasn't sure if I'd get another chance like this again.

"Hey Rose, can I ask you a question?" I asked over the music.

She turned the volume down so that we could just barely hear the music and said, "Sure, what's up?"

"I was just wondering, what changed between today and yesterday with us? Until now you've wanted nothing to do with me, and now you don't seem to be bothered by me at all. I mean, I don't mind or anything, I'm just curious," I ended with.

She laid back on her bed and I could see that she was thinking her answer over.

"I don't really like change. Ever since my mom and dad died I just really like things predictable, so I know what to expect. It helps me stay calm I guess. You showed up in town and pretty much started hanging out with my family the very next day and I just didn't have enough time to adjust. Plus, I don't really trust people I don't know. But then I saw how much everyone really liked you, and Emmett looks at you like a little sister, I was just happy that you made them happy, so I thought I'd try getting to know you. I'm sorry it took me so long, but just know that it had nothing to do with you, it's just the way I react to things I can't control," she explained.

Knowing that it wasn't me helped me a lot, made me feel less self-conscious around her. Before I thought that she didn't like me, now I understood that she didn't like change, and I had been a change in her life.

"It's okay Rose, I completely get it. Thanks for explaining it to me, and thanks for taking a chance on me," I said.

Just then we heard the front door open and the rest of her family pile in. We got up, heading downstairs to meet them. When Rose hit the bottom step Emmett was there to snatch her up in a huge hug, twirling her around. Rose broke into a round of giggles and I couldn't help laughing along with her. At my laughter he squeezed her one last time, put her down, then looked over at me.

"You think that's funny Bells?" he asked.

Before I could answer or react he snatched me up and did the same, more playful than sweet, with me. I starting laughing even harder and before I could stop myself I squealed, embarrassing myself and making the others laugh.

"Emmett, you big bear, put me down before I get sick," I said.

He laughed, but lowered me to the ground. He threw an arm around me and an arm around Rose while saying, "Come on girls, let's go find me some food."

He turned and guided us to the kitchen, and though I was aware of the others behind us I hadn't managed to greet them yet. Luckily, when we hit the kitchen, he lost interest in Rose and I in his search for something to eat, and I was finally able to turn to the others.

"Hey guys, how was the rest of the day?" I asked.

Alice answered, saying, "Okay, nothing interesting happened. No sign of James or anything like that. I spent my entire last class staring out the window thinking about how jealous I was that you and Rose were here enjoying yourselves while I was stuck in school. What have you been doing to occupy yourselves?"

"Rose gave me a tour of your house actually," I answered.

What do you mean? I've shown you around before, haven't I?," she asked.

"No actually. I've been all around the first floor, but never on any of the other floors," I said.

"Wow, seriously? I can't believe I slacked off like that. I'm sorry Bella, usually I think of things like that," she returned.

"It's okay and, actually, it gave us something to do while waiting for you guys," I said.

Emmett cut us off then, asking, "So who wants a snack?"

Alice answered, saying, "Actually, Bella and I are gonna go take a walk, if that's all right with her?" As she was talking she turned to me, the question on her face.

I answered, saying, "Sure, I'm not hungry anyway."

Alice reached over and took my hand, and then guided me towards the back door. I turned and gave a little wave to the others, amused that I hadn't even been able to greet Jasper and Edward before she stole me off.

We walked back to the little stream and Alice headed off to the big rock that I had first found Edward sitting on that first day. When we reached it she climbed up onto it, then turned to look at me expectantly, so I followed suit.

"This is Edward's rock, but the rest of us use it as well when the mood hits," she said.

"Why is it Edward's rock? What makes it his?" I asked.

"It's just where he's always come when he needs to be alone, or when he needs to think. I guess you could say it's his safe place," she explained.

We both sat down and relaxed. I was happy to be outside, it was one of those rare sunny days in Forks and I thought it was a good idea to soak up some of the sun while it was available. I put my head back and closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the rays.

"So what's up Alice?" I asked.

"What makes you think anything is up? Maybe I just want to spend some time with my best friend," she said.

"That's true, but you could have as easily done that back at the house," I answered.

"I just have this feeling that things are about to change and I wanted to have some one-on-one time with you before anything had a chance to change on me," she said.

I sat up and looked over at her, asking, "Change how?"

"hmm, not sure really. It's just this feeling I have," she said.

I didn't know what to say to that so instead I just stayed quiet, enjoying being out here with her.

We hung out for a while, just chatting a little, enjoying each others company, soaking up some sun. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and after all of the stress from the past two days I think it was something I needed.

A while had passed when I heard someone quietly approaching the rock from behind us. I had been lying there, relaxing with my eyes closed, but when I heard the footsteps coming near us I sat up to see who was approaching. I turned to see Edward walking up to us, an odd look on his face.

Alice must have noticed it too because she asked, "What's up Edward? Everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's just that I recognize this scene," he said.

I turned to look at Alice and I could see a look of recognition cross her face, it made me feel like I had just missed something here.

"Alice, let's tell her," Edward said.

"I've been wanting to anyway. I was just giving you some time before I asked you about it," she said to him.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked.

Edward climbed up and sat down on the rock with us before answering.

"Alice and I are different, Bella," he said.

"Different how?" I asked, curious now about what he meant.

"We have these things we can do that others can't, we call them our abilities. I'm guessing it's something we were born with, maybe our parents had them too, or maybe we're just freaks," Edward said.

Alice cut in, angrily saying, "Edward! We're not freaks!"

"We are Alice, otherwise we wouldn't have to bother hiding this part of ourselves," he answered. I could hear a hint of melancholy in his voice when he answered, as if he wished what he was saying wasn't true.

Alice looked at him for a minute, I could see that she was trying to decide if she wanted to answer that or to just continue on with an explanation. I guess she decided that telling their story was more important at the moment because she turned back to me, picking up where Edward had left off.

"I get glimpses of the future, Bella. I can't like see whole days, or even an entire event ahead of time, it's just fragments. But like, the first day I saw you I had a vision of you. In one fragment I saw the two of us sitting here on this rock, like we were when Edward came out. There were other little fragments as well, but while I didn't know what was happening in the vision I did know that you and I would become close friends, that you would be important to me, to my family," she explained.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Yup. It's weird, I know, but you get used to it. It doesn't happen a lot but it often gives us a heads up when something big is about to happen, or something is about to change. I haven't had one since that first day you were here though," she answered.

"And what about you Edward? Do you have visions too?" I asked.

"No. Alice and I have different talents. She sees visions, I hear people's thoughts," he answered.

Oh. My. God.

He could read minds? Had he been reading my mind this whole time? Had he heard every thing that I thought about him? I had definitely started to freak out a little when he started talking again.

"In the same way Alice gets fragments, so too do I. I can't like pick up everything someone is thinking, but I can get the gist of it, especially if I concentrate real hard. For instance, if someone is stressing out over their grades at school, I can easily pick up their stress, and a lot of the times pick up that it's school related, but I don't always pick up that it's grades in particular they're worried about. That kind of thing. I'm not flooded with thoughts constantly though, or anything. I can shut it off when I want to, and often do," he said.

"Have you been reading my thoughts?" I asked.

"No. I can't," he answered.

Alice's head jerked over in his direction, and before I could get a chance to ask, she beat me to it. "What do you mean you can't?" she asked.

"I noticed it today at lunch. I pretty much haven't listened into anyone's thoughts in a couple of weeks now, so today I thought I would flex myself a little. I was picking up on the thoughts of everyone in the cafeteria, just scanning here and there for practice. I finished with our table, and realized that when I tried to pick up anything from Bella, all I got was silence. Since then I've been randomly trying to get something from her, each time with the same results, nothing," he explained.

I felt a huge sense of relief. I don't know what I would have done if I had known he'd been listening into my thoughts for the past few weeks.

I realized that it was probably a bit odd that I was more worried about what he could have heard in my head than the fact that my best friend and her brother were able to see the future and read minds, but it didn't change the way I saw them. They were still just Alice and Edward to me.

Alice continued on, asking him, "What do you think that means? Why do you think you can't hear her thoughts?"

"I have no idea. There must be something different about her mind than everyone else's. It's the only explanation I can come up with. I've never noticed this with anyone else, as far as I know, she's the first," he answered.

I wasn't really surprised. I was surprised about the fact that Edward couldn't hear my thoughts when he could hear everyone around me, it was the fact that I was different from everyone that I wasn't surprised about.

I have always been different. I have always been the odd man out, the one who never quite fit anywhere. I just saw this as proof that I hadn't just been paranoid. I guess I was really the one who was the freak. I breathed in a deep sigh of frustration, which caught Edward's and Alice's attention, causing them both to look over at me, expectantly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that this just proves to me that I'm not normal. Something is wrong with me, I'm not like the people around me," I answered.

Alice laughed at that, saying, "Bella, in case you hadn't noticed, neither are Edward and I. Maybe that's why we have this pull to each other, maybe it's why we get along so well together. Whatever is different about us is different about you, too, just not in the same exact way," she said.

"So you guys get cool talents, and I just get silence," I pouted.

"Would you prefer that Edward was able to read your mind? Because I can tell you from first hand experience that it isn't fun," she said.

She definitely had a point. It was nice knowing that I was safe from his prying.

"So wait. You're okay with this? Our abilities don't bother you?" Edward asked.

"No, why would they? They don't change who you are. It doesn't make you any different, it just adds another layer to who you are. Besides, who wouldn't want to have an ability like that? We all dream of that kind of thing when we're kids. It's kind of cool to have friends who actually have talents like that. I'm special by association," I laughed.

Alice smiled bigger than I've ever seen her smile, then practically threw herself onto my lap in her attempt to hug me.

"Alice, I don't see what the big deal is. Did you really think this would change how I saw you? That it would somehow effect our friendship?" I asked.

"I hoped not, but you never know Bella. Most people _would_ look at us as freaks and then want nothing to do with us," she answered.

"Most people are idiots then, and probably not worth worrying about in the first place," I said.

I couldn't imagine turning away from a friend just because they were able to do something that I couldn't. Sure, I'd never met anyone who could read minds, or see fragments of the future before, but I loved Alice. She was my best friend and I didn't want to imagine what my life here would be like without her. If she was able to see into the future, that's just another part of her for me to love.

I didn't feel quite the same way about her brother, but knowing about his ability didn't affect how I saw him. We had just established a truce, we were even possibly working towards a friendship, none of that was going to change because of what he could do.

I looked over at him to see him looking back at me with what I could only describe as a fierce look on his face. I had no idea what he was thinking, but in that second I thought for sure that he was going to pounce on me, maybe even eat me up. He didn't seem angry or anything, more like whatever he was feeling was too much for him to contain and he needed to do something with it.

Suddenly his expression cleared and he smiled at me, a glorious smile that lit up his whole face. When I saw it, when I saw his face light up like that, I just knew that things were about to shift between us. I knew that whatever hurt and resentment I was holding onto was melting away, and that I wouldn't be able to keep my distance from him for much longer.

My stomach did a little flip in anticipation as I thought of what this would mean for me, for us. I didn't know what I wanted from him yet, but I did know it wasn't this polite distance that I had been going for lately.

I wanted to get to know Edward. I wanted to understand why his loved ones were so intensely loyal to him, even when he was being completely miserable to everyone around him. I wanted him to explain his mood swings to me, to make me understand why he had lashed out at me. I wanted to understand why, even as I had determined to hate him, why I couldn't stay away from him, couldn't stop thinking about him, dreaming about him.

I had been hiding it well, from Alice and Emmett, from Edward, even from myself, but I knew that I had never been able to get Edward Cullen out of my head. From that first moment I had seen him, my mind had been practically obsessed with him. It had taken everything I had in me to keep up an appearance of annoyance when he was around me.

I was tired of pretending. I would give him a chance to redeem himself, a chance I felt he had earned by now. I don't know where we would go from here, but I was looking forward to finding out. I knew he might end up hurting me again, that he still had a ways to go to earn my trust, but I thought it was worth the chance, that he was worth it.

I had stayed perfectly still this whole time. When I had reached the end of my thoughts I returned his smile, allowing all of the emotions that I was feeling to show through on my face, for him to read.

I watched as he registered what he was seeing cross my face. I saw him take a step towards me before he could restrain himself, saw him fight an inner battle to stay where he was. I knew that the only thing holding him in place was his will power, and the fact that his sister was still leaning into my lap.

I laughed out loud, and then allowed myself to lay back on the rock again.

Nothing had changed, and yet, everything had.

In that moment I had seen everything that Edward wanted, written right there across his face for me to see, and I knew beyond a doubt that what he most wanted was me.

**A/N:**

_So I didn't have a chance to proof read this chapter. I literally finished this and am posting it before I gotta run. So forgive any mistakes!_

_Anyway, still undecided about next chapter. I'm about to do an Emmett chapter, where we get to the action, and I was planning to do that next, but part of me is tempted to maybe do a quick Edward chapter now, so we can see what he's thinking. Decisions, decisions. So, don't know who's up next. _

_Anyway, thanks again!_


	25. Chapter 25

**Stephenie Meyer still owns Twilight**

**A/N:**

_So, I had just determined to just go straight to the Emmett chapter, and had actually started writing it, when your reviews started coming in. It was pretty unanimous, you wanted the Edward chapter first. So, I switched gears and wrote up his PoV._

_This is essentially Bella's chapter, written over again from Edward's PoV, so that you could see what he was thinking through all of it. If you're not interested in Edward's side of things, or reading the whole rock scene over again, feel free to skip this one. You won't miss out on anything plot related, it doesn't further the story any, it's just my answer to the requests I had. Think of it like a bonus chapter._

_Anyway, here you go, hope you like it. (It's proof that I try to take your recommendations to heart, when I can. ;o)_

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**Edward**

I watched as Alice grabbed Bella and took her out back for their little walk. After they left I walked over to the window as nonchalantly as I could, knowing I wasn't fooling anyone, but not caring at that point.

I looked to see in which direction they would go, figuring that they would probably head towards my rock. When I had my guess confirmed I turned away from the window, only to find Jasper staring me down.

He arched an eyebrow at me, in silent question, and I shook my head no. I wasn't ready to talk yet. Cluing Alice into my feelings and telling the rest of my family about them were two totally different things. I wasn't quite ready to spread the word yet.

I went in search of something to do to distract me. I wanted to give Alice and Bella some alone time, before I went out in search of them. And I _would_ go out in search of them. I had been obsessively thinking about Bella ever since lunch today, I was impatient to spend some time with her.

I roamed around the house for a bit before Jasper challenged me to a game of foosball. Half an hour later it was obvious to us both that I had no interest in the game.

Jasper took pity on me, saying, "Edward, just go. You've given them long enough, it won't seem stalkerish if you head out there now."

Oh god, I was pathetic. The worst part was, I couldn't even bring myself to try to deny it. I was thankful that at least Rosalie and Emmett weren't around at the moment to witness my piteous state, having gone of for some alone time together.

"Thanks Jaz. Don't tell Emmett about this and I'll owe you one," I said.

"Yeah, just don't forget about this, because I _will_ be collecting on this one day," he answered.

I laughed as I headed out the door. Jaz and I were always owing each other over one thing or another. It had gotten to the point where we could no longer keep track of who owed who.

I headed out to my rock and actually had to force myself to walk slowly, I almost felt the urge to run all the way down. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt like this, felt so exhilarated and excited for something. Her little concession at lunch today had given me hope, and was spurring me on.

Once down by the stream I turned the corner to head in the direction of my rock and, I was guessing, the girls. As I got closer I could see that they were both laying down on the rock, enjoying the nice day. It was then that I remembered Alice's vision, and knew that I was seeing part of it now. The way they girls were lying there, it was just how I had seen it in her mind.

The thought slowed my steps down. I had the sudden urge to tell Bella about our abilities. I wondered what Alice would say about it, if she would object or not. Somehow, I doubted it. Bella was her best friend, it must be hard for her to keep secrets from her, especially one like this.

I wondered how Bella would react if we were to share our secret with her. Would she view us as freaks? Would she distance herself from us if we told her? Would she resent us, as I always thought James had done once he had found out? My mind raced over all of the possibilities, each one bad, each one ending with her avoiding us because of our talents.

Just then Bella, then Alice, sat up and looked over at me. I must have had a panicked look on my face because I instantly picked up on Alice's thoughts, hearing her wonder what was wrong.

"What's up Edward? Everything all right?" she asked, sounding calmer than her thoughts.

"Yeah, it's just that I recognize this scene," I answered, hoping she would understand what I was referring to.

I could see it in her face, see that she had understood what I was talking about as she looked around her, comparing the scene around her to that of her vision.

The urge to tell Bella the truth about us became so overwhelming in that instant, so strong, that my panic of just seconds ago was wiped away by it. I wanted to be honest with her, wanted her to know all of us, and not just the parts we showed to rest of the world.

I had no idea how she would react, but I was willing to take a chance and find out.

Before I could change my mind and chicken out, I said to my sister, "Alice, let's tell her."

I knew she wouldn't need any more explanation than that. I would leave it up to Alice, if she said yes we would divulge our secrets to Bella. If she said no, I was willing to wait, for the moment.

"I've been wanting to anyway. I was just giving you some time before I asked you about it," she said to me.

My stomach did a little flip in nervousness at her answer. We were actually going to tell her then.

Bella cut in, asking, "What are you guys talking about?"

I climbed up onto the rock with them while I tried, and failed, to get control of my nerves. I wasn't sure how this conversation would go, but I knew it very well had the potential to destroy me.

I took a deep breath before saying, "Alice and I are different, Bella."

"Different how?" she asked.

I knew that it was now or never.

"We have these things we can do that others can't, we call them our abilities. I'm guessing it's something we were born with, maybe our parents had them too, or maybe we're just freaks," I explained.

Alice, as she always did, got worked up as soon as I called us freaks.

"Edward! We're not freaks!" she practically yelled at me.

Alice and I always argued about this. She didn't think that our abilities made us any different than the people around us. I knew though that if the world knew of our talents they would label us freaks, or worse.

It kept us apart from others, our abilities, but also our need to hide them from everyone else. We could never quite be ourselves around people, never let them see us for who we really were. It was just another reason why we were more comfortable around our family than around everyone else. They knew who we were, what we could do, and loved us despite it.

"We are, Alice, otherwise we wouldn't have to bother hiding this part of ourselves," I said, knowing it was true, wishing it wasn't.

I could see Alice trying to decide at that point whether it was worth arguing with me over or not, but then decided we should continue on with our explanation to Bella. I was thankful, now that we had started our story I wanted to just get this over with. I was starting to feel sick, worrying over the outcome here.

Alice took over, explaining her abilities to Bella and her limitations. I couldn't tell what Bella was thinking while she listened to Alice. Of course, the one time I would have loved to use my ability, to know what was going through Bella's mind, and it didn't work.

When Alice was done with her explanation, Bella turned to me asking, "And what about you Edward? Do you have visions too?"

"No. Alice and I have different talents. She sees visions, I hear people's thoughts," I explained.

"In the same way Alice gets fragments, so too do I. I can't like pick up everything someone is thinking, but I can get the gist of it, especially if I concentrate real hard. For instance, if someone is stressing out over their grades at school, I can easily pick up their stress, and a lot of the times pick up that it's school related, but I don't always pick up that it's grades in particular they're worried about. That kind of thing. I'm not flooded with thoughts constantly though, or anything. I can shut it off when I want to, and often do," I finished.

I could see the panic cross her face then. Knew she had to be wondering if I'd been listening into her thoughts, violating her privacy. I wondered briefly what it was that her private thoughts entailed, stopping myself before I could go any further with that line of thought.

"Have you been reading my thoughts?" she asked.

This was the part that Alice didn't know about yet. "No. I can't," I explained.

Alice's head whipped over to look at me, shock and confusions showing on her face.

"What do you mean you can't?" Alice asked.

"I noticed it today at lunch. I pretty much haven't listened into anyone's thoughts in a couple of weeks now, so today I thought I would flex myself a little. I was picking up on the thoughts of everyone in the cafeteria, just scanning here and there for practice. I finished with our table, and realized that when I tried to pick up anything from Bella, all I got was silence. Since then I've been randomly trying to get something from her, each time with the same results, nothing," I answered.

"What do you think that means? Why do you think you can't hear her thoughts?" Alice asked.

"I have no idea. There must be something different about her mind than everyone else's. It's the only explanation I can come up with. I've never noticed this with anyone else, as far as I know, she's the first," I explained.

I had been thinking about this since lunch today, and that was the only thing I'd come up with. I had no idea why, out of all the people in the world, Isabella Swan seemed to be the one person who's mind I couldn't penetrate. What made her different from everyone else?

Just then Bella let out a big sigh, almost as if she was frustrated. It wasn't quite the reaction I had been expecting. I looked over to try to decipher what she was thinking.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that this just proves to me that I'm not normal. Something is wrong with me, I'm not like the people around me," she said.

Alice laughed at her, surprised by her line of thought.

"Bella, in case you hadn't noticed, neither are Edward and I. Maybe that's why we have this pull to each other, maybe it's why we get along so well together. Whatever is different about us is different about you, too, just not in the same exact way," Alice said.

"So you guys get cool talents, and I just get silence," Bella said, almost sulking.

"Would you prefer that Edward was able to read your mind? Because I can tell you from first hand experience that it isn't fun," Alice asked her.

I was flabbergasted. I couldn't understand, did she actually not care about our abilities? I stood up to walk around, hoping it would help me to think clearly.

"So wait. You're okay with this? Our abilities don't bother you?" I asked in disbelief.

"No, why would they? They don't change who you are. It doesn't make you any different, it just adds another layer to who you are. Besides, who wouldn't want to have an ability like that? We all dream of that kind of thing when we're kids. It's kind of cool to have friends who actually have talents like that. I'm special by association," she explained, ending with a little laugh.

Alice threw herself at Bella, landing in her lap, wrapping her arms around her in a big hug.

"Alice, I don't see what the big deal is. Did you really think this would change how I saw you? That it would somehow effect our friendship?" Bella asked.

"I hoped not, but you never know, Bella. Most people would look at us as freaks and then want nothing to do with us," Alice answered.

"Most people are idiots then, and probably not worth worrying about in the first place," Bella returned.

I was overwhelmed. I stared at this woman, trying to figure her out. I couldn't understand how she could so easily accept us.

For one moment I was angry, not at her, but at everyone we had grown up with who had dropped us so easily.

They hadn't been able to get past Alice and Jasper, then Emmett and Rose dating. It had been a complete non-issue for Bella. The people who had known us for years couldn't accept us, but this girl, who hadn't known us at all, was able to do so without blinking.

Now we tell her that we have abilities that set us apart from everyone else, that essentially made us freaks, and again, complete acceptance.

I wanted to be able to get in her head, wanted to understand what made her so accepting, wanted to see what she was thinking. I had the sudden urge to pounce on her, to take her head in my hands, to try to get as close as possible to her, in the hopes that her thoughts would somehow become clear to me.

I realized then that she was looking over at me, so I allowed myself to smile at her. I wanted her to know how grateful I was, for my own sake, but also, for my sister's as well.

I wanted her to see how happy I was in that moment, and I was almost overwhelmingly happy. I had never thought to find love, never thought to find this kind of happiness at all, but to find someone who had accepted us so completely, with no strings attached, it was more than I could have ever wished for.

If I was ever able to win her love in return, something I was more determined than ever to do, I knew that it would be life altering for me. I knew that there would be no return for me from that.

I watched as Bella took in my smile, watched as she got lost in her own thoughts. I could see her working through something and I wondered what it was. I saw her come to a decision, then I watched as she smiled back at me.

I knew that it wasn't just any old smile. I might not have been able to read her thoughts, but this time she was letting them show through on her face.

I knew that things had just changed between us. She had finally accepted me into her world, I could see she was going to drop the wall she had resurrected between us, going to give me my shot at her heart.

We were only at the starting point, she was giving me a chance, but I knew her feelings for me weren't the same as my feelings for her yet.

I had admitted to myself that I was in love with her, she was only just allowing us to see what we had. I knew that she would become my world, that she was already very much becoming so, while she was only just letting me into hers. We still had a ways to go, but for the first time I knew we were both willing to walk the same path, willing to see where we could go, together.

I was so overcome with hope in that moment, so overwhelmed by the need to walk over and scoop Bella up in my arms, to feel that physical connection with her, that I started to take a step towards her before I realized what I was doing.

At the last second, my mind clamped down on my body, willing it to stay still, forcing myself to remain where I was. The urge to go over to her, to touch her, to allow myself to feel her, was so strong that it physically hurt me. I almost bent over, my need like a physical weight, almost let it overwhelm me.

Alice, still laying in Bella's lap, was the only thing restraining me. When I did allow myself to go to Bella, to allow myself to touch her as I wanted to, I wanted it to be when we were by ourselves. I wanted the freedom to express myself, without either of us having to worry about others watching. I didn't want to have to share Bella, not even with Alice.

I did the only thing I had left to me at that point, I let everything I was feeling come through on my face. If I couldn't show Bella how I felt by going to her, I would let her see what I was feeling on my face.

I took a deep breath, then allowed my hope to come through. I let her see how much this moment meant to me, how much she meant to me. I closed my eyes, when I opened them again I allowed my need to show through in my eyes, let my intense longing for her come across. I wanted her to see that she was becoming my world, and that I thought of her my every waking minute.

I saw her take it all in, then watched as she threw her head back and laughed out loud.

Alice looked up at her to see what had her laughing, then looked over at me. I knew that although she hadn't gotten everything, that she at least knew that something had just happened between Bella and I, and I saw her break into a big Alice grin. The little imp was happy for us, as I knew she would be.

I closed my eyes and said a little pray of thanks, to whoever was listening. I knew how lucky I was to be getting this second chance. Three weeks ago, without even realizing it, I had almost destroyed my life. Today, by sheer luck, I was getting the chance to undo that mistake, to fix everything I had almost ruined.

I was sure that today was the first day of the rest of my life. I didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but I didn't care, as long as Isabella Swan was there with me, walking along next to me, hopefully holding my hand in hers.

**A/N:**

_So what did you think? I was nervous writing this after yesterday's chapter, because everyone seemed to love yesterday's so much (which surprised me because I basically wrote it as filler, and to wrap a few things up before we get into the next bit of the story). Please feel free to let me know if I was successful, or not, with this one. _

_All right, gotta run. You all should know who's up next._

_Thanks again everyone!_

_Ciao  
_


	26. Chapter 26

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_Sorry it took so long for the update, but I had a little case of writer's block. _

_Anyway here it is, finally, the Emmett chapter. I've been looking forward to writing this chapter out, ever since I realized what I was going to do with it, like ten chapters ago. This is one of my favorite chapters so far I think. I know there are probably some of you that weren't really looking forward to an Emmett PoV chapter, but I really do think he was the best one for this._

_As usual, thanks to everyone reading and reviewing!_

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**Emmett**

We all hopped into the car the next morning to head off to school. As usual I ended up in the backseat with Jasper and Alice. Though I was the largest and could have easily claimed shotgun because of it, I always let Rose sit up front. What can I say? I liked making my babe happy.

I tended to let the others dominate the conversations on the ride into school, preferring to veg out and relax while I could. This morning, however, I had an agenda. This morning I planned to have a little talk with Edward.

I noticed last night as soon as the three of them had come in from their little walk that something had shifted, the dynamic was off somehow. It took me a little while to pinpoint that the shift was entirely between Edward and Bella.

Bella seemed more relaxed around Edward, as if she was no longer freaking out over how he was going to handle being around her. Usually whenever she was near him her body language was defensive, as if she was constantly on alert for an attack of some kind. Last night though, she seemed as comfortable around him as she was with Alice, Jasper and I.

Edward's change was even bigger though. It took me a while to figure out what was different about him, but I did finally notice. He seemed to be drawn towards Bella. Whenever she shifted, so did Edward. He either moved with her, unconsciously, or his eyes followed her. It was almost as if his gravitational pull had changed, and he was now orbiting around Bella.

All night I watched them. Though they hardly interacted with each other, it was clear that something was different now. I kept looking to the others, to see if they had noticed it as well.

Jasper seemed to be the only one to pick up on it. I kept catching him sneaking glances at them throughout the night. Rose and Alice both seemed oblivious, though I doubted this was really the case with Alice. More than likely, she was the only one who actually knew what was going on.

This morning when I got up I had determined to have a little chat with Edward, and decided that the car ride into school was the perfect time to do so. He might be my brother, and I might love him to death, but I was _not _going to allow him to screw with Bella. If he hurt her I was going to have to hurt him, and I didn't want to have to hurt my own brother.

I waited until we pulled out of the driveway before I started the conversation. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this, but I felt like I had to let him know where I stood. It only seemed fair to warn him that a whoop ass was waiting for him around the corner, if he stepped out of like

I had purposely sat in the seat behind his, so that I'd be able to make eye contact with him through the rearview mirror, in the hopes that I would be able to read his expressions. Edward was really good at closing himself off most of the time. tt helped to be able to see him as you talked to him, just in case he let something slip and show on his face.

I leaned forward a little, trying to catch his attention as I said, "Edward, bro, we need to have a little talk."

He looked at me in the mirror and I could tell he was trying to read my thoughts, to pick up on what I wanted to talk about.

"Can we do this later?" he asked.

"I'd rather do it now," I answered.

"Look, Em, I know what you're going to say, so we can skip this whole conversation all together actually," he said.

"Sorry bro, that's not good enough this time. I don't want there to be any mistakes about this later, so let's just do this my way and then we can all move on," I explained.

Jasper and Alice were both looking at me curiously now, while Rose flipped through her French book, studying for a test later.

Rose already knew what was coming, we had talked about it this morning. It was just smarter to run things by her first, she didn't handle surprises well.

Edward finally sighed, saying, "All right. Your way it is."

"I didn't do, or say, anything that first day when you acted like an asshat to Bella, but I'm not going to sit back a second time and watch you dick around with her. I don't know what's going on with you two right now, but you sure as hell better know what you're doing. Brother or not, I will kick your ass if you hurt her again," I said.

"Why do you care Em? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I'm just trying to understand why you would side with her over me?" he asked.

"She's like a sister to me," I said.

"You already _have_ a sister Emmett, or have you forgotten?" he asked.

I froze when he said that. It was like he was trying to slap me in the face or something. He should know better than anyone how much I loved Alice. He should be the last person questioning me over our sister.

"Fuck you, Cullen. You know better than that, I could _never_ forget about Alice. She's my sister as much as she's yours," I spat out at him.

I took a calming breath before continuing on. "Just because I look at Bella like she's a younger sister, that doesn't take anything away from my relationship with Alice. Bella is _like _a younger sister, Alice _is_ my younger sister. I can care about them, and want to protect them both at the same time."

"It doesn't bother Alice that I look at Bella like a sister. Does it Alice?" I asked as I turned to face her.

"Of course not Emmett. I think of her as a sister too_. _The simple truth is, she fits with our family. It's hard to not picture her as one of us," Alice answered.

Rose put her book down and turned to face me, saying, "Babe, calm down. He doesn't really care that you view Bella as a sister, he's just testing you to see where you're coming from, and why. As much as you have Bella's best interests at heart, so does he."

Out of all of us, Rose was the best at figuring out Edward's little games like this. He liked to push us, to make us react when he was looking for an answer, so that he could read our thoughts while we got worked up.

I gave Edward a dirty look in the rearview mirror, asking, "Is she right?"

"She usually is," he said with a shrug.

My temper flared and if he wasn't the one driving I'm not sure what I would have done.

Then I processed what had just happened, and what it meant, and I calmed down again. If he was willing to test me like that, to push me on one of the few things he knew would really piss me off, it could only mean one thing.

"You're in love with her," I said.

It was a statement, not a question.

I put what had just happened, along with his recent changes around Bella, together with his reaction over James, and I knew it was true. He hadn't just decided that he liked Bella now, or that he didn't want to see her get hurt, it went beyond that.

Edward Anthony Cullen had finally fallen in love.

He looked up at me in the mirror for a second or two, trying to come to a decision, before finally answering.

"Yes," was all he said, while never breaking eye contact with me.

I knew that he had wanted me to see that he meant it, that he was fully aware of his feelings for her, and what they would mean for him. This was his way of telling me that I had nothing to worry about. Bella's interests were now his own, and he would do everything in his power to protect her, even if that meant from himself.

I knew my brother well. I knew what it meant for him to love someone. It was no small thing. Bella was safe with him, I was sure of that now.

The car was silent for a minute while everyone processed this. I think even Alice was a little shocked by his open acknowledgement of his feelings for Bella.

Even if she had suspected his feelings, she would have never guessed that he would just admit to them so easily like this. And that was saying a lot, as it was Alice we were talking about. Alice, who saw the future.

Jasper was the first one to break the silence, asking, "When did this happen?"

"The first day I met her," Edward answered without even stopping to think.

"But you were a complete dickhead to her! She thought you were a lunatic because of the way you snapped at her," I said, shocked by his answer.

"He asked when I had fallen in love with her, not when I had realized it. There's a difference there. I fell in love with her the day I met her, but I freaked out and denied it, thinking if I chased her away I would save myself," he answered.

"All right, when did you realize it then?" Jasper clarified.

"Two days ago," he answered.

"When James showed up," I said.

It made sense. Out of all of us, he would be able to deny his true feelings, even to himself, the longest. But even he couldn't deny it after his reaction to James sitting down at lunch with Bella. Instincts had kicked in, and he had wanted to beat James to a pulp just for sitting across from Bella. It would be hard to deny your feelings for someone after something like that.

"Does she know?" Rose asked.

"We haven't talked about it, no," he answered.

"But she suspects something is different, doesn't she?" Alice asked.

I looked over at her, trying to decide if she was guessing or if she knew something the rest of us didn't.

"Probably," he said.

"That was what happened yesterday by the rock, right? Something happened between you, and she picked up on your feelings, at least to a certain extent," she said.

"I'm pretty sure, yes," he answered.

While he was being honest with us, this was like pulling teeth. He seemed to want to answer our questions, while not going into any details.

"How did she react? How does she feel about you?" Jasper asked.

"I don't know how she feels about me yet, but I'm almost positive that she doesn't feel as strongly about me as I do about her. I think though that she's willing to give me a shot and, really, that's all I can ask for right now, after the way I treated her," he explained.

We were pulling into the parking lot, where I could already see Bella's truck, and Bella standing next to it waiting for us, so our conversation was going to have to be cut short. I knew though that we would all be thinking this through during the day, waiting for the chance to pick up where we left off.

We pulled into the spot and I climbed out of the car, going over to give Bella a hug.

"What's up Bells?" I asked as I finished hugging her.

"Hey Em. Not much, just waiting for you guys," she answered.

Everyone greeted her and we chatted for a bit before we headed into school.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you over at my locker in a couple of minutes, there's something I have to do. Bella, you remember my locker combination right?" I asked.

"I have it written down," she answered.

"Good. All right, see you in a bit," I said, before I headed off in the opposite direction, having first given Rose a kiss.

I was heading off to Bella's locker. I knew that James had the locker next to hers, and I wanted to have a little chat with him today. Yesterday I had let Edward and Alice handle things, today though, it was my turn.

When I walked up he was already there, leaning up against his locker. I could see that he was waiting to see if Bella would show. He turned to look at me as I walked up to him.

"Oh god, don't tell me they sent in the fucking gorilla patrol," he said.

James and I were never as close as he had been with Alice and Edward, but we had been friends at one point. Our friendship had been the first one to go though. For some reason that I could never figure out he started to resent me, acting like an ass to me whenever I was around.

"Fuck you Black. I'd rather be a gorilla than a snake like you, any day," I answered.

"What the fuck do you want Emmett?" he asked.

"I'm gonna make this quick. Stay away from Bella Swan and stay away from the rest of my family. If you hurt any of them, I swear you will live to regret it. I won't be as nice as Alice and Edward about, who will just make sure you get shipped off again. If you hurt any of them in any way I will kick your ass so hard they won't be able to recognize you for a week, until the bruising and swelling go down," I said.

"Fine. Message received monkey boy. Now get the fuck away from me," he said.

I turned and slammed him into the locker, bringing my face up to his, and said, "Go ahead James, call me monkey boy one more time and see what happens."

He looked straight in front of him, but I could see that he was watching me out of the corner of his eye. He was trying to look nonchalant, but I knew how much this aggravated him, my size and the fact that I could easily kick his ass.

When I knew that he wasn't going to answer, that he didn't have a smartass comment for me, I let him go and turned and walked away.

Hopefully now his anger would be directed at me, instead of the others.

*************************************************

I kept my eyes open throughout the day, looking out for James, watching out after the others. I tried to catch up to Bella as much as possible throughout the day, and I knew Edward was doing the same. I had seen him walking her to class and knew that his was in the opposite direction as hers. Between the two of us we would keep an eye on her.

I worried less about the others. I knew that Jasper would be watching over Alice, but I also knew that, of the lot of us, she was probably the most capable of heading off James before he made a move.

I was keeping my eye on Rose and, I knew to a lesser extent, Jasper would be too. I doubted though that James would go after Rose. From the moment the two of them had met, James had done his best to avoid her. Something about Rose intimidated James, I was never able to figure it out, but he always gave her a wide girth.

I headed into lunch, walking over to our table where Alice, Jasper and Rose were already sitting. Bella and Edward must have run to their lockers before heading to the cafeteria.

I sat down, looking the others over before asking, "Any trouble?"

"So far, so good," Jasper answered.

I leaned in and gave Rose a kiss, then wrapped my arm around her shoulder for a minute, enjoying the feel of her tucked into me.

I scanned the cafeteria, looking for any signs of James. He wasn't there though and I hoped that maybe, like yesterday, he had bailed for the day.

That hope was short lived though. I looked up to see him come walking in with Bella. It was obvious that the two of them were arguing over something, and that James was agitated.

The others stopped what they were doing to look up at them, having noticed them a second behind me. Bella looked annoyed, but in control. James, however, looked like he was on the verge of losing it. His movements were angry and I could see that whatever they were talking about had him worked up.

Bella said something and then went to walk away, but James grabbed her arm and pulled her back, making her face him again. Bella shrugged him off, obviously losing her temper now, and said something in return.

I could see what was going to happen a split second before it did. I could see James' face darken, watched as his anger got the best of him, and knew what he was about to do.

"Fuck," I said as I jumper up and out of my chair in an attempt to stop what was about to happen. I knew I would never reach them in time, but I had to try.

I could see the others look up at me, confused about what had upset me, but I ignored them in my need to hurry. I knew though that Alice, at least, had understood what was about to happen as I heard her gasp as I jumped up.

Before I had even managed to take one step in their direction though, James pulled back and smacked Bella square across her face. He hit her with such force that her body twisted off to the side and she had to fight to keep her balance.

The cafeteria got quiet as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the scene in front of them unfold.

Bella managed to keep herself from falling over and pulled herself back into a standing position, her hand going to her face, both in shock and to protect herself in case James went to strike her again. I could see that there was blood at the corner of her mouth, and I knew that that bastard had busted her lip.

As I charged over to them, to get Bella away from James, and to beat the living shit out of him, I saw the others stand to follow, jumping up when James had made contact with Bella.

I was about fifteen feet away from the two of them when, all of a sudden, James went flying through the air. I came to a dead stop, confused about what had just happened, when I realized that my brother was the reason James had taken flight.

He had launched himself at James from the other side, sending both of them flying through the air towards me. The two of them landed in a tangle on the floor, Edward taking advantage of James's shock to get the upper hand and twist himself on top of James.

Edward must have come into the cafeteria right before James had hit her, and watched the scene play out from the other side of them. My attention was so focused on Bella and James that I hadn't even noticed him come in.

As I stood there frozen, Edward started punching James over and over again. James, pinned under Edward, was for the most part defenseless, trying his best to block Edward's blows.

I had never seen my brother like this, never seen him in such a rage. He was always in control over his emotions, always the calm, level-headed one.

Now, however, he was like an animal, powerful and lethal and being guided by his base instincts. I knew he wasn't thinking of anything lese in that moment besides destroying James.

Everyone was in such shock at the scene that the entire cafeteria sat frozen as my brother beat the shit out of James.

James had finally gotten over his shock and was trying to get out from under Edward. He finally managed to knock Edward off of him, and had rolled out to the side, jumping up as soon as he had gained his freedom.

I could see that James had already taken a good beating, his face was banged up and bleeding, but that didn't seem to appease Edward at all. He growled, then starting throwing punches at James. James took the first punch but managed to avoid the second one. He tried to throw one in return, but Edward was like a madman anticipating James's every move. He sidestepped the punch and grabbed a hold of James, catching him in a headlock with his left arm, while hitting him with his right.

James pushed himself out of Edward's grip and the two of them got knocked back a few feet.

I knew it was time to step in. I could see that two of the teachers had finally gotten over their shock, and were heading over to break up the fight. I knew that it would be better if I stepped in between them, instead of one of the teachers. I wasn't sure that Edward would back off for anyone but family and, even then, I didn't think he would do so easily.

I jumped between them, slamming James back into the wall when he tried to come after Edward. Next I turned to Edward and grabbed him as he tried to launch himself at James. I got a hold of him and held tightly, knowing that I would have to continue to do so until he got control of his rage. I watched as Jasper jumped in and grabbed James, keeping him from trying to come after Edward again.

My brother struggled violently against me, trying to break loose of my grip with all of his might. I was a lot stronger than him though and held tight as he wrestled against me.

"Edward. Calm down. She's safe now, you can relax. You need to calm down though, you've got a couple of teachers heading over in our direction," I said to him, trying to penetrate the haze he was in.

"Let me go Emmett, I'm going to fucking kill the bastard," he spat out at me, trying still to free himself.

"You already kicked his ass, Edward, that'll have to do for now. Calm down bro. I'm not going to let you go. Forget about James for a minute, go check on Bella," I said.

At the mention of her name he froze. I felt his body tense up then finally relax. I knew that his need to see that Bella was okay would be the only thing strong enough to make him forget about killing James.

When I knew that he was in control of himself again I released him, watching as he walked over to Bella and cupped her face in his hands as he looked over the damage James had inflicted on her.

James was struggling against Jasper, trying to win his release, when Edward walked over to Bella. As he watched Edward cup Bella's face, he went still and a look of pure hatred crossed his face.

I sighed in frustration, knowing that we hadn't seen the last of this. James would never forgive Edward for kicking his ass like this, in front of pretty much the entire school. If he was dangerous before he was deadly now.

Mr. McDonall had finally reached us and, as he took everything in, he turned to Alice and Rose, saying, "Alice, Rosalie, will you please escort Miss Swan to the nurse? Emmett, Edward, Jasper and James, you four come with me. We have an appointment with the principle.

Edward turned towards him and said, "I'm not leaving her. I'll take her to the nurse's office myself."

"This is not under discussion Cullen. Your sisters will escort Miss Swan to the nurse, you will come with me," he reiterated.

Alice cut in, walking over to Bella and Edward as she said, "Edward, it's okay. Rose and I will make sure she's okay. We'll take care of her."

Edward still looked unconvinced though, and I could see that this was going to be a problem.

"Edward. Go. I'm fine. You need to trust that I'll be able to take care of myself. You have your own things to worry about right now. We'll talk after school, okay?" Bella said, trying to defuse the situation.

He looked at her, staring hard into her eyes, before he nodded his head and stepped back from her. He turned then and walked away, not waiting to see if the rest of us would follow.

I knew that he had had to force himself to walk away from her, that it had taken everything in him to do so. His every instinct would be screaming out inside of him to stay near her, to protect her.

She had asked him to trust that she could take care of herself though and so, he would show her that he did, even if it almost killed him to walk away from her now.

We all followed him out of the cafeteria. Rose and Alice had their arms wrapped protectively around Bella. Jasper was walking next to James, only a step away from him, ready in case he decided to take action. I had brought up the rear.

As we walked through the doors I heard the noise in the cafeteria start up again, then reach a frenzied pitch. This would definitely be the only thing talked about for the rest of the day. I sighed in frustration as I realized that once again my family would be the center of everyone's attention.

As we headed to the principle's office I thought about James and everything that had just happened. I was starting to have my suspicion's about his behavior, but I wasn't ready to voice them to the others yet.

Hopefully I'd get lucky and this would be the incident that finally got James suspended from Forks High. I hoped that he would be shipped off again after this and that he would no longer be our concern. Then I'd be able to forget about my suspicion's and everything that they could possibly mean.

**A/N:**

_Well, what did you think? Worth the hype or no? I hope so. Anyway, if you have the time, please let me know what you thought of this one. Thanks!_

_I've got something special planned for next chapter I think, regarding who's PoV we get. That's all I'm going to say about it for the moment though. I'll try to update tomorrow, but it's getting a little harder to update every day, because of what's happening in the story, and because the chapters are a little longer now. So it might take me till tuesday to get the next one up. I'll try for tomorrow though._

_All rightie, thanks everyone!  
_


	27. Chapter 27

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I don't own any of them, sadly.**

**A/N:**

_Wow, this one is pretty long. Sorry about that! I probably should have split it up into two, but I didn't want to do that to you. Anyway, it's the day of the fight, that morning (so that no one gets confused)._

_Lot's of great feedback last chapter. Thanks so much for everyone who reviewed! Seriously, made my day. :o) _

_I honestly don't know what you'll think of this one, I hope you like it, but who knows? lol. Anyway, here we go..._

_*****************************************************  
_

**Bella**

I headed to school the next day both nervous and excited at the same time. I knew that things were starting to change between Edward and I, but I wasn't quite sure yet where they were heading. The uncertainty of 'us' is what had me anticipating going to school today. I had no idea what the day would bring, but I was looking forward to finding out.

I pulled up into the parking lot and realized that the Cullen's car wasn't anywhere to be seen. I found a spot off to the side and pulled the truck in. I climbed out and went back to sit on my tailgate. I decided that it was probably safer to wait for them outside, rather than head in and chance meeting James instead.

James might have cut out early yesterday, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be showing up today. I knew that there was still a confrontation on the horizon between us, so I was playing it smart for the moment. I would stick to the Cullen's as much as possible, at least until things calmed down a little. Till I felt more confident in my ability to deal with James.

A few minutes later I turned to see the Volvo pulling into the parking lot, then head towards where I was parked. As soon as their car stopped Emmett climbed out of the backseat and wrapped me up in a big hug. When I stepped back, after he released me, I turned and greeted the others. We all headed inside together after that.

Once inside Emmett excused himself from us, saying that he had something he needed to take care of, and headed off in the opposite direction as the rest of us. I headed over to his locker, where I was still keeping all of my stuff. Edward walked Rose and I over, while Jasper and Alice headed off to their own lockers.

Once Jasper and Alice were back, Edward headed off to get his stuff, apparently uncomfortable leaving Rose and I on our own. I rolled my eyes a little bit at his over-protectiveness, but refrained from saying anything about it. I knew he was handling the situation to the best of his abilities, so I shouldn't complain.

After Edward got back we all chatted until the bell rang, then we all headed off in different directions and to our first classes. Edward walked me to my first class, not taking any chances.

We walked in a comfortable silence, both just happy to be around the other without any tension between us, clouding things up. As we said our goodbyes and Edward headed off to find his own class, I realized that Emmett had never showed up at his locker. I wondered where he had gotten off to.

**Edward**

She was definitely getting more comfortable around me. When the bell rang signaling first class she looked over at me, waiting to see if I was planning to walk with her. It was definitely a step up, one I was very pleased with.

We were quiet all the way there, relaxed with each other. It was nice just being able to walk along with her like this, in a comfortable silence. I couldn't believe how far we'd come in such a short time. I never thought she'd be this comfortable with me already. Today was definitely going to be a good day.

We said our goodbyes when we got to her classroom, and I promised to meet up with her right after class ended, so that we could walk together to Trig, the class we shared. She was waiting for me and I could tell as soon as I saw her face that she was worried about something. I couldn't tell what though and, not for the first time, wished that she wasn't the one exception to my mind reading talent.

I walked up to her smiling and though she smiled in return, it didn't reach her eyes. We started walking to class and I waited to see what she would do, if she would talk to me about what was bothering her, or keep me out. I wanted to see if she would trust me.

Finally she turned to me and asked, "Do you know what Emmett was going off to do before class this morning?"

I felt guilty as I realized that she had been worrying about my brother and it hadn't even crossed my mind to wonder where he had gotten off to this morning. I had become so fixated on Bella that I was losing sight of the rest of my family.

Still, I couldn't seem to bring myself to regret it. For once, I was truly happy, enjoying the turn my life had recently taken. I had every intention of letting myself selfishly enjoy it for a while.

When I thought about what might have taken Emmett off on his own though, I was pretty sure that I already knew the answer.

"James," I said.

"What about James?" she asked.

"I told Emmett yesterday that he would have to wait to confront James, I bet he went off this morning to have a little talk with him. He seems to be all about his little talks today," I answered, while I remembered out little conversation in the car this morning.

"Aren't you worried about him? He shouldn't have gone off to confront James on his own," she said.

Her obvious concern for my brother made me smile. Her loyalty for him apparent in both the words she said and the tone she said them in. Bella took her friendships very seriously. I knew that those who were able to call her friend should count themselves lucky, I certainly did.

"He probably shouldn't have gone off to face James by himself, but I'm not worried about him," I explained. "Physically, James has nothing on Emmett and he knows it. It has always driven James crazy actually. Emmett knows James enough to not underestimate him. He's fine, trust me."

She didn't look totally convinced, but we had just sat down in our seats and class was starting so I didn't have a chance to make her feel better about it.

**Bella**

After Class I was determined to find Emmett and see for myself that he was okay. I figured he probably was, still, I didn't want to worry about him. Edward was walking me to my next class but I told him I wanted to find Em first, to reassure myself.

We were saved from having to go off in search of him though when we bumped into him in the hallway.

"Em, everything okay?" I asked him, unable to hide the concern in my voice.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" he asked, looking confused.

"She was worried about you. We figured you probably went off in search of James this morning and it worried her that you hadn't met up with us at your locker afterwards," Edward explained.

"Oh. Yeah, I went off to find James. Everything's fine though, didn't have any problems or anything. We had a talk, then I headed off to class. Thanks for worrying about me though, Bells," he said.

"I'm just glad you're okay Em. I wish you wouldn't deal with James on your own though. Safety in numbers and all that," I said.

He laughed, saying, "That little shit has nothing on me Bells, no worries there, trust me. Listen though guys, keep your eyes open today, okay?" he warned.

We both agreed to do so, then headed off toward my class. This was the class I shared with James and I was definitely not looking forward to it. Not at all.

As we walked along I started thinking everything through. I wished that the situation with James would end so that we could all relax and find some kind of normal again. I wondered, not for the first time, what would happen to end it. Would he just back off, or would we reach some kind of pinnacle, possibly have a face off with him? I was hoping it would be option number one.

I started thinking about the man currently walking next to me. Edward. Even his name sounded better to me now. We were so different with each other, so much more comfortable. I actually looked forward to seeing him now, instead of dreading it like I had just recently done.

I knew I was starting to think about Edward in a romantic sense. I found myself wondering if he would eventually ask me out on a date, my first ever, once this whole James thing was behind us. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was starting to really hope that he would.

We finally were outside of my classroom, so I turned to say goodbye to Edward.

"Thanks Edward. Both for walking me to class and for watching out for me," I said.

"I like walking you to class, whether James poses a threat to you or not, so you don't have to thank me. It's my pleasure. Now listen, be careful. If he gives you a hard time ask to go down to the nurse or something. Don't deal with him if he gives you shit," he said.

"All right, I'll keep that in mind," I answered.

"I'll meet you here after class. Good luck," he said, before turning and heading off to his class.

I took a deep breath and then turned to head in to face James again.

**Edward**

I hated having to leave her, knowing that she was going in to face James alone. It seemed unfair that out of all of us she was the only one to have a class with him, and she was stuck with him for two.

I turned, heading off to find my own class. I knew that this was going to be a long hour of waiting and worrying about her. If I could have switched places with her, I would have.

I made it to my class just seconds after the bell rang, late for the second time in two days. Mr. Antoine looked up at me as I tried to sneak over to my seat, but didn't say anything to me about it. I was usually a perfect student, which I think made him willing to overlook these two little incidents.

He droned on in a lecture that I was completely unable to focus on. My mind was too busy absorbed in all things Bella at the moment.

I thought about last night at dinner. Bella had finally gotten to meet Carlisle, who was intensely curious about her. He had been hearing about her for weeks, from almost every direction. He was getting impatient waiting to meet this girl who had captured the hearts of most of his family.

Though he never mentioned it I knew he wouldn't have missed out on the fact that I never talked about Bella, never mentioned her name, or participated in conversations about her. Carlisle liked to give me space, knowing that if I needed to I would come to him. I would too, I trusted both Carlisle and Esme with my life.

When he came home to find that Bella was still there and would be joining us for dinner he lit up. I felt bad then, sensing that he had been feeling left out lately, knowing that it was my fault. The reason he hadn't had a chance to meet Bella was because she had been avoiding our house, in order to avoid me.

Carlisle would be seeing a lot more of Bella from now on though. If I had my way he would be seeing so much of her he would end up getting tired of her. I wanted Bella to be a permanent fixture at my house, just as I hoped to be at hers.

I kept staring at the clock, counting down the minutes until I would get to see Bella again, till I could assuage my fears and see that she was okay.

Mr. Antoine called on me to answer a question, but I hadn't been paying attention and had had no idea what the answer was. I could tell that he was losing patience with me, so I tried, unsuccessfully, to listen to his lecture.

Finally, the bell rang. I stood up to leave, anxious now to get to Bella, when Mr. Antoine stopped me.

"A word before you leave, Mr. Cullen," he said.

I was forced to stay after class to talk to him, knowing that Bella would be waiting for me to rescue her from James.

**Bella**

By the time I went in and sat down James was already in his seat. I had waited to go into the classroom until right before the bell had rung, in the hopes of avoiding getting into a conversation with him.

It didn't help though. Even as Mr. Bennett droned on, James leaned forward over his desk and whispered in my ear.

"Stop sicking your little minions on me, Swan. I'm losing my patience," he said.

I wasn't about to answer him though, not while Mr. Bennett was talking. James was definitely not worth getting in trouble for. So I ignored him through class. He seemed to take the hint though and sat behind me quietly for the most part.

It felt like it had taken forever for the bell to ring, but it finally had. I gathered my books and stood up, hoping that James would leave without bothering me. I should have known better.

As soon as I stood up he started back in.

"Seriously, tell your pathetic little followers to stop harassing me, it's getting annoying and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be nice about it," he said.

I sighed but answered as I walked out the door, looking for Edward. "They're not my followers, they're my friends, and I'm not the one making them harass you. As long as you leave us alone, we'll leave you alone from now on."

We were out in the hall now, and I could see that Edward wasn't there yet, so I leaned against the wall to wait for him. James stood next to me, facing me.

"What fun would that be though? I could care less about the others, they bore me, in truth. But you, Swan, you are fascinating. I can't seem to leave you alone," he said.

I rolled my eyes at him, saying, "More like you find all the trouble you're causing fascinating, James. I don't believe for one minute that you actually have any interest in me," I said.

"You don't know me, Swan. You're listening to what your friends tell you about me, but that's not the same as first hand experience. Don't presume to know what I'm thinking, or my motivations," he said.

"I have a little first hand experience with you, don't forget. More importantly though, I trust my friends over you," I said.

"You know you're curious about the real me, Swan," he said.

"No James, I'm honestly not. I know enough about you already, any more would just be overkill," I explained.

"You don't know what you're missing out on, Swan," he returned.

"Look, James, I'm waiting for Edward here. There's no reason for you to wait with me, so why don't you just go on ahead," I said, hoping he'd take the hint and leave me be.

"Eddie boy seems to be slacking, I'm not going to miss out on a chance to talk with you for a few minutes, Cullen-free. Those asses hover around you like you're a bitch in heat," he said.

"Nice, James, real nice," I answered, annoyed at his choice of words.

I was wondering what had happened to Edward. He must have gotten held up after class, because he was still nowhere to be seen. I craned my head looking off in the direction of his class, but couldn't see his bronzed head anywhere.

Should I stay here and wait for him, or head off to the cafeteria? I looked over at James and then down the hall again. When I still didn't see Edward I decided to head off to the cafeteria. The others would be there already and it would probably be the quickest way for me to get rid of James. I was hoping that Edward would figure out where I'd gone and follow after me.

I pushed off against the wall and started walking away from James, who annoyingly started walking with me. It was time to put an end to this.

"All right, listen, James. You and I? We're not going to be friends. There is _nothing_ here between us. No pull on my part, no curiosity. Nothing. This wasn't about me choosing between you and the Cullen's, or anything like that. The Cullen's are my friends, you are no one to me. You're just some player who has decided to try to use me for his own gains. I want no part of that, no part of you. Nothing would make me happier than for you to give up on this little game of yours and leave me alone. I'm ready to get on with my life, and you're making that hard," I said.

As I spoke we approached the cafeteria, entering right after I finished my little speech.

I was so ready for James to get this, to get that I really wanted nothing to do with him, and that I wasn't just playing some game with him. Maybe I could convince him, where the others couldn't. Maybe he just needed to hear it from me.

I could tell he was getting agitated by what I was saying, but I didn't feel bad about it. He had forced me to this point, forced my blunt honesty with him.

"No. You're lying. I don't believe that you don't secretly think about me, wonder about me. It's just that bastard Cullen talking through you now. I've seen the way you look at me Swan, you want me, I know it," he said.

"You're delusional James. Whatever you think you've seen, you're wrong. _You_ are not the man I want," I said.

At that I turned to walk away. This conversation was over, I had nothing more to add to it, nothing more to say to him. I'd done my part, now I could only hope that he listened and left me alone.

As I stepped away from him I felt him grab a hold of my arm, pulling me back towards him, not exactly gently either.

My temper flared. I knew even as I was saying it that I shouldn't, but everything had caught up to me at once and exploded in me. The stress of the situation, the need to constantly be vigilant, the plotting to stay one step ahead of him, the rearranging of all of our lives so that I could stay safe, and all because of this one man.

My anger overwhelmed me and, for once, I gave it and let it get the best of me.

"Damn it James! Get this through your head. I want nothing to do with you. You're a damn _monster_. You've lost you mind if you think you'd be worth any kind of effort from me. You're trash, worthless trash. I just want you to back off and leave me the hell alone!" I spit out at him.

As soon as I said it I could see the change in him, knew that his temper was going to win out. This whole time we'd been trying so hard to keep me out of danger, gone out of our way to keep me safe from this man, and in one little fit of temper I threw myself head on into it. His eyes flashed and his face reddened and, for one second, I was truly afraid for myself. I had finally gotten everything Edward had been trying to tell me, to warn me, about James.

It happened too fast for me to avoid it. One second he was standing there, anger flashing in his eyes, and the next second his hand had made contact with me face. He pulled back and hit me harder than I'd imagine even possible from a slap.

My whole body twisted with the impact of the hit and I was just barely able to keep myself from falling to the ground. Pain flooded through my head, causing me to cry out. I felt like the next seconds were in slow motion.

I stopped myself from falling, just barely, then pulled myself up to a standing position again. I tasted blood in my mouth, and knew that he had busted my lip open. My hand went up to my face, covering the spot he had made impact with.

Even knowing that he had been about to lose control over his temper, I had been surprised. I hadn't expected him to hit me. What's more, I was shocked by the force behind the blow. I'd never been hit by a guy before this. It was definitely not an experience I ever planned to repeat again.

I looked accusingly at James, angrier than I could ever remember being. He had hit me. That bastard had actually hit me. I couldn't get my mind to move past that one fact.

I don't know what would have happened next. I don't know if James would have tried to hit me again, or if I would have ever managed to react or not, because one minute James was standing there in front of me and the next I was staring at empty space.

I blinked in confusion before turning to see two bodies flailing around on the floor. The body on top shifted a little and I realized that I was looking at Edward. Edward had tackled James, causing them both to go flying through the air.

I was shocked. I hadn't even realized he had been close by. He must have walked in just into the cafeteria just in time to see James hit me.

I watched as he pummeled, I could think of no other word for what I was seeing, James. I was taken completely by surprise by his reaction, his attack of James. If I had still had any doubts about how he felt about me they would have dissipated after seeing this.

It was an odd feeling, knowing someone cared about you enough to attack the man who had just hit you.

**Edward**

Fuck.

Mr. Antoine had kept me after class to lecture me on my tardiness and lack of attention. The entire time I he was talking I was panicking over the fact that I wasn't there to meet Bella. Would she think that I had abandoned her? Would James give her a hard time?

I hoped that he had left her alone. Hoped that she would decide to head to the cafeteria without me. I wanted to tell Antoine to just shut the hell up and let me leave already, but I didn't think that would help my cause.

Instead, I let him get his little lecture out of his system and the second that he was done I turned, practically running out the door.

I got to Bella's classroom to find her gone. I was sure when I didn't show, she would have headed off to the cafeteria to meet up with the others, so I turned and followed. It would have been easier for me if I had headed to my locker, like I usually did, to drop off my books and get what I'd need for the next two classes, but I needed to see that Bella was okay.

My panic subsided a little as I approached the cafeteria, knowing that it would be just seconds till I would see Bella and confirm that she was okay. I grabbed the door and pulled it open, stepping into the cafeteria.

I froze as soon as I was in though, because standing about thirty feet away from me, were Bella and James, very obviously having an argument. I was momentarily annoyed that my family hadn't already stepped in to break them up, when I started to walk over to do so myself.

Bella had just tried to walk away from James, but he tugged her roughly back. My temper flared that he would dare to lay a hand on her.

As I started to walk towards them I could see Bella spit something out at James in response to him restraining her. James was facing away from me so I couldn't see his face, but I saw his body tense up in anger.

Before I could get close enough to stop it from happening that fucktard pulled back and struck Bella in the face. I watched helplessly as her body twisted off to the side on impact. Watched as she struggled to keep her balance, then fought to pull herself back up again. I had stopped dead from shock, unable to believe what I had just witnessed, what I had let happen.

Then I saw red.

The motherfucker was dead.

I have no memory of making the decision to attack James, it was just something my body did. One minute I was standing there in shock, the next I was charging at him full steam.

I launched myself at him when I was close enough. My body made impact with his, propelling us both through the air. Seconds later we hit the floor.

Before he'd even had time to register what had just happened I had him pinned underneath me.

I had never hated anyone as much as I did James in that moment. The fucker had actually laid a hand on Bella. He had actually struck the woman I loved.

I needed to beat the shit out of that fucker. I could think of nothing beyond that, beyond kicking his ass. I wanted him bleeding, broken and crying out in pain.

My fist made contact with his face and I knew this was exactly what I needed to do. As soon as my right fist was done I brought my left one in, couldn't let if feel left out after all. I slammed into him with my fists, time after time, as hard as I could. He was too busy defending himself from the onslaught of punches to get any in himself.

I don't know how many hits I had managed to get in before he was able to knock me off of him, I just knew that it hadn't been enough. I knew that it would _never_ be enough to erase the memory of his hand coming into contact with Bella's face.

We both jumped up and stood facing each other. I got a good look at the damage I had done to his motherfucking face but, although he was already bruised and bleeding, it wasn't enough to satisfy me.

I pictured the scene over again in my head, saw him hitting her. My rage intensified, giving me an adrenaline rush. Without making the conscious decision to, I growled at him, then moved in to throw more punches.

My right fist made contact with his face again, but when I went to hit him with my left he was ready for me, ducking out of the way.

The fucker moved in to try to throw one at me, but I was too fast for him. I grabbed his arm, pulling him in towards me, as I wrapped my left arm around him, capturing his head in my grip. I got in one hard hit with my right hand before he managed to push himself out of my grip, the fucking bastard.

I was getting ready to throw myself at him again when Emmett stepped between us, slamming James back at the wall when he went to come for me. I tried to launch myself around Emmett in my attempt to reach James, but my dickhead brother grabbed me and pulled me back.

He had wrapped his arms around me from behind, effectively pinning me against him. If it had been anyone else I would have been able to break free, but Emmett was a bear. Even with adrenaline rushing through my veins, giving me more strength than I would normally have, I wasn't able to break loose.

That didn't keep me from struggling against him though, hoping he would loosen his grip enough for me to slip away. Emmett spoke to me then, trying to calm me.

"Edward. Calm down. She's safe now, you can relax. You need to calm down though, you've got a couple of teachers heading over in our direction," he said.

I wasn't ready to give up though. Hitting that fucker was the only way I could pay him back for what he had done to Bella. He wasn't hurting enough for my satisfaction.

"Let me go Emmett, I'm going to fucking kill the bastard," I spat out at my brother.

"You already kicked his ass, Edward, that'll have to do for now. Calm down bro. I'm not going to let you go. Forget about James for a minute, go check on Bella," he said.

It was possibly the only thing that could have made me let go of my rage and walk away from my fight with James. When I heard my brother say Bella's name, realizing that she was standing there, forced to watch all of this while she was hurt, my need to kill James was replaced by my need to see that she was okay.

My body had tensed up with the effort to get control of my emotions, to release the rage. Finally I let it all go, instantly relaxing. Emmett held onto me for a few more seconds to make sure

I had really given up on the fight, then he released me.

I completely ignored James, instead walking straight over to Bella. I stood in front of her and silently cupped her face in my hand, inspecting the damage inflicted by James.

Her lip was busted open and I could see that she would have a nasty bruise on the left side of her face before too long. Seeing it made me want to go over and finish what I had started with James, but I stayed where I was. Bella needed me, that was all that mattered right now.

I looked into her eyes to see a mixture of emotions. I wasn't sure what she was feeling. I couldn't tell if she was disgusted by my attack of James, or shaken up from his hit. I could see that she was feeling intense emotions, I just didn't know what they were.

My worry must have shown on my face, because as Mr. McDonall approached us I felt Bella reach out and grab my hand, giving it a quick squeeze before releasing it again. Some of the tension left my body at that. Whatever she was feeling, it hadn't kept her from wanting to comfort me.

"Alice, Rosalie, will you please escort Miss Swan to the nurse? Emmett, Edward, Jasper and James, you four come with me. We have an appointment with the principle," Mr. McDonall said.

Fuck that. I wasn't leaving Bella. Not after what had happened. If the principle wanted to talk to me he could do so at the nurse's office.

"I'm not leaving her. I'll take her to the nurse's office myself," I said determinedly.

"This is not under discussion Cullen. Your sisters will escort Miss Swan to the nurse, you will come with me," McDonall shot back with.

I had always liked McDonall, thought he was a great teacher, but he was a fucking idiot if he really thought he was going to make me leave Bella.

Alice cut in, trying to calm me before we had another incident. "Edward, it's okay. Rose and I will make sure she's okay. We'll take care of her," she said.

It wasn't good enough though. I trusted my sister with my life but, in this moment, even for Alice, I would not leave Bella.

I was just about to argue with her, to reiterate that I wasn't going to leave Bella, when Bella herself cut it. "Edward. Go. I'm fine. You need to trust that I'll be able to take care of myself. You have your own things to worry about right now. We'll talk after school, okay?" she said.

I turned to look at her. Again, I stared at her eyes, trying to read the emotions there. I saw confidence and determination. I saw strength. Most importantly though, I saw anxiety. Anxiety for me. I knew she didn't want me to get into any more trouble than I was already in. I didn't want to cause her any more worry.

I would do for her what I couldn't do for the others. I fought for control over myself. My instincts were screaming out for me to stay with her, to keep her safe. I didn't want to be out of sight from her, even for a minute, but I didn't have a choice. She had asked me to trust her, so trust her I would.

I nodded my head once, letting her know that I would do as she asked, then stepped back and away from her. The urge to step up to her again, to touch her so I'd know that she was safe was still there, but I had managed to overcome it.

I turned and walked out of the cafeteria without looking back. I knew that if I turned and saw her behind me, with her busted lip and bruised cheek, that I would lose my battle and go to her again.

Only for Bella could I have walked out of that cafeteria without my arms wrapped around her. Only for her. I determined that the very first chance I got I would make up for not being able to do so now and, once I did, I swore I would never let go.

**Bella**

It was over. Emmett had managed to break them up, slamming James into the wall and restraining Edward. I watched as Edward struggled almost violently against his brother in an effort to get free, so he could continue with the beating.

I couldn't believe this was the same Edward I had seen these past weeks. That Edward had been reserved, quiet, for the most part calm. I would _never_ have imagined him in a violent rage like this, I couldn't believe that I was the cause of it, in a way.

I wasn't sorry to see James take a beating, especially since Edward hadn't received one hit during the fight, which I found kind of amazing. I admitted to myself that when James had hit me, I had wanted to see him suffer. That Edward had been the one to make him pay was just an added bonus.

Emmett quietly said something to Edward, who almost instantly relaxed. Whatever he'd said, it had effectively doused Edward's need to finish James off.

He stepped away from Emmett and walked over to me, cupping my face in his hands. It was such a sweet, caring, gesture that my heart melted a bit. He stared at me in the eyes, trying to see what I was thinking, if I was okay.

I was overcome with longing, unable to believe that I had somehow managed to catch this man's attention. I had done my best to avoid him for weeks, now I just wanted to be wrapped in his arms.

One of the teachers approached us and started issuing orders. I ignored them and him, focusing only on the man in front of me.

Edward turned to the teacher, who I could see now was Mr. McDonall, and refused to leave me. They went back and forth, with Alice finally stepping in to try to persuade Edward, to no avail. He was holding firm, he wouldn't leave me.

I knew I would have to step in. As much as I wanted to be with Edward right now, I was realizing he would be in quite a bit of trouble for this, and was worrying that he was now adding to it.

I stepped in, saying, "Edward. Go. I'm fine. You need to trust that I'll be able to take care of myself. You have your own things to worry about right now. We'll talk after school, okay?"

It was true, I was fine. My face hurt like a sonovabitch, but I was in one piece, I would survive.

He looked me in the eyes intently, staring for what seemed like hours, but I was sure was only seconds. Finally, he must have seen what he needed to, because he nodded once, jerkily, then stepped back from me. He didn't pause, just turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

Rose and Alice came up and put their arms around me, guiding me out of the cafeteria and to the nurse's office. I was thankful that they were there with me, that I had friends who cared.

As we headed off I realized that we had a lot we had to face yet. Our parents would be called down to the school. I would have to deal with Charlie, calming him down after he saw my face, then convince him to let me go over to the Cullen's house. We'd have to face Esme and Carlisle. We'd have to deal with whatever trouble Edward got into because of this.

Somehow though, I couldn't care about all of that. I wasn't worried about everything that lay in front of us, because, I knew Edward and I would be facing it together. I could handle whatever came our way as long as I was standing side by side with Edward when it happened. Together, I was pretty sure, we could face anything.

***********************************************

**A/N:**

_So what did you think? Did you like it, or was it overkill? Hopefully you enjoyed it at least a little. Love to hear from you though, tell me what you thought. _

_Did you like the Bella/Edward PoV for this one? _

_All right, thank you to everyone reading this, and a big thanks to everyone taking the time to review! You rock my world. ;o)_

_Next chapter will be up sometime in the next two days, depending how long it is. If I can keep them under about nine pages then I can usually get them done in one day, anything longer than that and most likely it takes me two (this was fourteen for a reference point). Okay, later gators!_


	28. Chapter 28

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_So I was going to try to post the Edward/office chapter next, but I was having a lot of trouble writing it and ended up writing the Bella/nurse chapter instead. I know everyone is probably more looking forward to seeing what's going on with James and Edward, but it was either this one or a longer wait for the next update. *shrugs*_

_All right, so anyone who reviewed last chapter might have a problem reviewing this one. I went back and deleted the Q&A chapter, forgetting that it would move all the other chapters back, which means if you reviewed last chapter it will probably tell you that you already reviewed this chapter if you try to review it. You can do one of two things then. You can either go back and review on an earlier chapter and I'll know that you mean this one, or you can send me a PM with your review. If you don't feel up to either though I'll understand! No worries. ;o) I would go ahead and try it anyway, who knows, maybe it will work out okay._

_Lot's of great reviews for the last two chapters. You guys are completely wonderful! Thanks so much for reviewing, and for taking the time to read this story. We're almost to the end now, a good couple of chapters away still, but we're coming up on it, and hopefully you'll think it's worth it (hope so!). Anyway, thanks!_

_******************************************************************_

**Bella**

Rose and Alice walked me to the nurse's office, their arms wrapped protectively around me the entire way. I didn't need their support, but it felt good to have it none-the-less, comforting to me to be surrounded by them.

I had to admit that I was still a little shaken up. I had never been hit before, by anyone, much less a guy, so I was still a little overwhelmed by what had happened. My sense of security was shattered for the moment and I wondered how long it would be before I got it back.

The three of us were quiet the entire walk to the nurse's office, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I was going over what had happened in my mind, trying to process everything. Not just James hitting me, but Edward's reaction to it, then their whole fight.

When I thought about Edward in the principal's office I panicked a little, wondering how much trouble he would get into because of this, hoping it wouldn't be a lot. I wish I was with him, to defend him if he needed it. He had just been coming to my rescue after all, I didn't think it was fair that he get punished for that.

James, on the other hand, I was really hoping ended up getting kicked out of school, or at the very least suspended for a long time. Not just for my sake either, but for all of us. It had taken so little for him to snap and strike me, what was to stop him from doing it again, to someone else?

When we approached the nurse's office, Rose yanked open the door and the three of us headed in. Mrs. Neffron, the nurse, looked up at us when we entered.

"Everything okay ladies?" she asked, her eyes coming to a rest on me.

I hesitated, not sure how to explain what happened. Thankfully, Alice spoke up before I had to.

"Bella was hit in the face, at lunch. Mr. McDonall told Rose and I to escort her here," she said.

"What were you hit with, dear?" she asked.

"James Black's hand," Rose said dryly, clearly not willing to skate around the subject.

"You were hit by a student, by a guy?" she asked.

I shook my head yes, but remained quiet. What was there for me to say really?

Mrs. Neffron had me sit up on the table so she could examine my face. I have always hated the tables found in school nurse's offices, or doctor's offices. They were uncomfortable and, despite the paper covering them, your skin always stuck to them. I was wearing pants today, but I still eyed it dubiously, thinking that it would somehow get the better of me anyway.

Just as she was about to examine my face the phone in her private office rang and she excused herself to go answer it. I looked at Rose and Alice, who were both just staring at me, at my face. From the looks on their faces mine wasn't looking too hot right now.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

Alice's face scrunched up, but she answered, "Not bad really. You'll definitely be able to tell for a day or two, but a little make-up will help some."

I stared at her hard, trying to decide if she was being honest or trying to be kind. After a couple of seconds I turned to look at Rose, the question written on my face.

"You look like shit, honestly," she answered.

"Rose!" Alice yelled.

"What? Like she's not going to look in a mirror the first chance she gets and see for herself? It's not like it's permanent or anything. She looks like shit now, but in a week she'll be back to her old self," Rose said, defensively.

I groaned and closed my eyes, wishing I could just disappear. I don't know if I could take a whole week of looking like I had been hit. I could only imagine the stares that would inevitably come.

"Where's the closest bathroom?" I asked.

Rose pointed to a door next to Mrs. Neffron's office. I walked over and opened the door, fumbling to find the light. I flipped the switch on, then closed my eyes for a moment, hoping to gain a little strength before I looked into the mirror.

When I opened my eyes again I stepped up to the mirror to have a look and gasped. It was bad. My lip was busted, swollen, and crusted in blood. My entire left side of my face was puffy and I could already tell it was going to bruise. Bad.

I was shocked to see how much damage had been done. I knew that his hit had been hard, but I didn't think it had been this hard. I stepped back from the mirror, not wanting to have to look at myself any longer. I knew it was temporary, but that wasn't improving my mood any.

It suddenly occurred to me that Edward was going to see me looking like this. Edward, the most beautiful man I had ever seen, was going to see me swollen, busted, and bruised. I wondered if I had looked this bad in the cafeteria, but didn't think so. I could feel the swelling in my face, and this part, at least, was relatively new.

Damn James! I hoped all over again that this would get him expelled, at least then something good would have come from it.

I went back out and sat on the table again, just as Mrs. Neffron came back into the room.

"They called your father dear, he'll be here in a little while," she said.

I groaned again, loudly.

"They shouldn't have called him. There was no need for him to come down here," I said.

"It's school policy, they have to," she explained as she gathered up some stuff that she would need.

She turned to Rose and Alice, saying, "Girls, you can head back to class now, I'll take care of her from here."

Rose and Alice both looked at each other before turning back to Mrs. Neffron. I could see that they weren't supportive of this idea, and truthfully, neither was I. I wanted them around me right now. Their presence was keeping me together.

Alice was the one to answer, saying, "No offense Mrs. Neffron, but Bella is our best friend and she was just attacked by James Black, without provocation. We're staying here with her. We just need to know she's okay."

"If we go to class right now there's no way we'll be able to concentrate on anything anyway. Plus, I'm sure it will make Bella feel better if we're here with her," Rose said.

"It really would, Mrs. Neffron. Their being here is helping to keep me calm," I said.

I was touched by their concern for me, and their willingness to stand up to Mrs. Neffron in order to stick by me.

Mrs. Neffron apparently was too, because she answered, "All right girls, you can stay then. You can take a seat up on the other table if you want."

Alice hopped right up onto it, but Rose eyed it dubiously, opting to remain standing instead.

Mrs. Neffron proceeded to try to clean up my face some. She gave me a wet rag to wipe up my lip and an ice pack for the side of my face. She used a light to examine my eyes, though I'm not sure what for. She seemed satisfied by whatever she saw though and stepped back from me.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

I had to think about it for a moment. I had been so busy processing everything, including how bad my face now looked, that I hadn't noticed whether or not I was in any pain.

When I finally stopped to take stock of how I felt, I realized that I felt like shit. My entire face hurt and I felt like my head was about to explode from the headache I was just now noticing I had.

"Not good, actually," I finally answered.

"Well, keep the ice pack on your face for at least twenty minutes, then give it a break for a little while, then reapply it. You want to do that throughout today, it'll help with the swelling. You should take it easy for today and tomorrow, at least. That was a bad blow you took, and you need to give yourself some time to recover," she said.

"Okay, thanks," I said.

She turned to look over at Alice and Rose, then looked back to me.

"Your father should be here shortly, Bella. The front office will send him over here, and I'll talk to him, let him know you're okay and what you need to do. Meanwhile, you can just lay down and relax until then. Alice and Rosalie can hang out here with you to keep you company. I'll leave you girls alone, but knock on my office door if you need anything or when your father shows up, okay?" she asked.

I nodded my head in agreement, and she turned to Alice and Rose to get their nods of ascent before she headed back into her office.

"How do you think Charlie's going to handle this?" Alice asked.

"Not good. He's probably going to flip out a little bit, and demand blood or something like that. I'm definitely not looking forward to this," I answered truthfully.

"What did you say to James, right before he hit you?" Rose asked.

"I don't even remember anymore. I know I was really angry at him and I think I called him a monster, but besides that I'm not sure. Nothing that would justify this reaction," I answered.

"No, I didn't think it would justify this. I only wanted to know what had pushed him over the edge. It couldn't have been much. You two hadn't been talking for very long before he hit you," she explained.

"I know I was telling him I wanted to stay away from me, but he wasn't getting it. It's like he's in denial or something. Anyway, I doubt even he could imagine that I'd want anything to do with him after this," I answered.

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry. I feel like this is all my fault," Alice said.

"How is it your fault? It's no one's fault but James's," I said.

"Because I should have seen this coming. If my visions were working right maybe I could have prevented this. Or, if I had reacted earlier, anticipated what he would do earlier, maybe I could have warned Emmett in enough time for him to get to you. Instead he only had enough time to stand up out of his seat. I'm so sorry," she said.

"Alice. This is _no one's_ fault but James's. It would be just as easy for me to assume part of the blame, to say, if I hadn't said whatever it was I said to push him over the brink then he wouldn't have hit me, but that's not true or right. This happened because James allowed it to. Nothing I could have said would justify his reaction. I'm not responsible and neither are you. We will not assume any guilt here, that would only make the situation worse. No, you couldn't have known or stopped him, it's not your fault. The guilt lies solely with James. I won't have anyone else assuming responsibility for what rightfully belongs to him," I explained.

"She's right, Alice. It's not your fault. Nor is it Emmett's fault or Edward's fault, though I'm sure they'll both try to claim some responsibility. It's wrong to think like that though. James is a bastard who let his temper get the best of him, he was the one who struck Bella, all the blame here goes to him," Rose said.

I was glad to see that she supported me on this because, like she said, I was sure that Edward at least was going to try to accept part of the blame, though I didn't know why Emmett would.

"Why would Emmett think it was his fault?" I asked.

"He was the first one who noticed you guys come into the cafeteria, the first one to see you arguing. He was also the first one to see what was going to happen and the first one to try to react. Even if he had reacted sooner though, I doubt he would have reached you in time. It happened so fast that there was really nothing anyone could have done," Rose answered.

I knew then that I was probably going to have to convince Edward and Emmett that this wasn't their fault. It was funny how many people felt guilty over James's actions. I wondered if James was feeling any guilt, or if he didn't give a shit. I doubted he cared, and it pissed me off even more that he was probably one of the only ones not feeling guilty about all of this.

"I hope he gets suspended," I said.

"Even if he doesn't, which I think he will, his father will probably ship him off again. His dad is big on reputation, and doesn't forgive James when he does something that his father feels is embarrassing to their family name. This is definitely one of those situations," Alice explained.

"Good. It will make our lives a hell of a lot easier if he's not around anymore. Maybe we could get back to normal again," I said.

Just then I could hear Charlie calling my name and I took a deep breath to steady myself, preparing to calm him down.

The door opened and he walked in, still calling out my name, I could hear panic in his voice.

He stopped dead though as soon as he saw me, looking at the damage done to my face. I knew that it couldn't have improved any since I had looked in the mirror. In fact, I was willing to bet that it had actually gotten worse since then. So I could only imagine what he was thinking when he saw me, but I knew it couldn't have been good.

He walked over and hugged me, careful about not hurting me though. It was a long hug, longer than I was used to getting from him. Charlie and I were not big on displays of affection, when we hugged it tended to be the half-hug kind of thing. This hug was a lot different, bigger and more natural. I could tell he was trying to be reassuring, but I wasn't sure which one of us he was trying to reassure.

Finally he stepped back and out of the hug, grunting quietly to cover up his awkwardness.

"Dad, don't worry. It looks worse than it feels," I said.

"Somehow I doubt that, Bells. What happened? They said someone hit you?" he asked.

"James Black did. We were in the cafeteria and we were arguing. He got mad and smacked me in the face," I explained.

"James Black is back? When did that happen? That kid is nothing but trouble. I swear, I'm going to arrest him on charges of assault for this. That little shit isn't going to get away with this. He's gotta know that he can't hit girls, and _especially_ not my daughter," he said.

"Dad, just wait to see what the school does first. If they expel him and he gets sent away again then it's fine. As long as I don't have to deal with him anymore, I'm happy," I said.

"Bella, he hit you. From the looks of it, he hit you hard. There's no way I'm just letting him walk on this. He's lucky that I don't go over there and kill him now for this. No one, and I mean _no one_ lays a hand on my daughter," he said, his voice getting louder as he spoke.

The nurse must have heard him then, because her door opened and she joined us.

"Chief Swan, I'm Mrs. Neffron, the nurse here," she said as she held out her hand to shake.

Charlie shook her hand, asking, "How is she? Should I take her to see our doctor? Or to the ER?"

"No, she's fine. Nothing seriously wrong or anything, just sore and bruised. She should take a day or two to recover. I'd recommend keeping her home for at least tomorrow, maybe the day after as well, depending on how she feels. If she has persistent headaches, or starts to feel drowsy or dizzy then be sure to call her doctor, but for now just give her some Tylenol and let her rest, oh and make sure she uses the ice pack throughout the rest of the day," she said.

I could see that Charlie was taking everything she said very seriously, and I had a feeling that he was going to try to hover over me today, which was the last thing that I wanted.

"I need to go back up to the front office to talk to the principal, is it all right if Bella hangs out here until I'm done?" he asked.

"That's fine. She has her friends here to keep her company," Mrs. Neffron answered.

I don't think Charlie had even noticed Rosalie and Alice until then. When Mrs. Neffron pointed them out he turned to greet them.

"Girls," he said as he nodded his head in salutation at him.

"Hi Charlie," Alice said. "I don't think you've ever had a chance to meet Jasper's sister, Rose. Rose this is Charlie, Charlie this is Rose."

Charlie went over to shake Rose's hand, saying, "It's nice to meet you Rose."

Rose returned his greeting, saying, "Likewise, Chief Swan."

He looked the two of them over before asking, "Can I trust you girls to look after Bella until I get back?"

"Sure Charlie, we'll take care of her," Alice answered.

Charlie nodded his head, satisfied, before turning back to me. He looked me over again, and I could see that he was hesitant to leave.

"Dad, I'll be fine," I said.

He nodded then turned and left. The nurse headed back into her office, telling us again to knock on her door if we needed anything.

"Well, that went better than would be expected," Alice said.

"On our end anyway. I doubt they'll have as much luck at the front office," I answered.

Rose snickered, I guess enjoying the vision of my father raising hell in the principal's office.

"What do you think the chances are of him going back to work today? I have a feeling he's going to hover, and I really don't want that," I said.

"I'd say slim to none," Rose answered.

"Why don't you convince Charlie to let you come back to our house today? Esme will be home to keep an eye on you, which should satisfy him, and he can go back to work without having to worry about you," Alice said.

It was a good idea. I doubted it would take much to convince Charlie. He'd want to get back to work, but wouldn't want to leave me alone. If he knew I was over at the Cullen's house with Esme home he should feel more confident in going back to work.

"It's worth a try. Do you think Esme would mind? After all, Edward's probably going to be getting into trouble today, do you think she'd really want anyone over for that?" I asked.

"I doubt that she'll make a big deal over Edward fighting James. If it was unprovoked she would give him hell over it. I think though that knowing it was in reaction to James hitting you, will probably make it okay. She won't be happy over it, but I doubt she'll get upset either," Rose answered.

"Anyway, we should be able to ask her as soon as we get out of here. She's probably over at the front office with Edward as we speak. They would have called our parents in over a fight and since Carlisle's at the hospital today it would be Esme they probably got a hold of. We'll ask her before we leave. If she says yes then she can reassure Charlie if he's undecided about allowing you to come over," Alice said.

I shook my head, happy with the plan. It would be nice to go over there and hang out with them.

I was hoping too that I would be able to talk with Edward, which would be a lot easier if I was at his house. I needed to thank him for defending me. I needed to have a conversation with him, to tell him my feelings for him were starting to change. I knew that the time for honesty had come, that after today he definitely deserved it.

I was nervous about what I would say to him, but kind of excited too. I knew things were about to change between us and I was looking forward to it. I had already been starting to think of us as a team, a couple almost, now even more so. It was time I told this to Edward, to let him know that I was starting to have feelings for him, and hope that he returned those feelings.

I wished that I didn't look like shit for our little talk, but I knew that it wouldn't matter to him, and I didn't want to hold off on this. He had more than earned my honesty with him, I felt like it would be unfair to wait to talk to him until I looked better.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. I wasn't even sure if Charlie was going to allow me to go over to the Cullen's house today, so it was pointless to get all worked up over something that might not even happen today.

Still, I knew that one way or another the conversation would take place, and soon. I was ready to own up to how I felt for Edward, and see where we went from there. Now that I knew it was going to happen, I was looking forward to it. I couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring for me, for us.

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**A/N:**

_Not the most exciting chapter, I know. We had to see Bella after the big fight though, and I just thought that I might as well write it up now while I was stuck on the other chapter. Hopefully you liked it a little._

_I should have the next chapter up tomorrow. I'm going to start working on it now, so hopefully I'll get it done sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. So, keep your eyes open for an update some time tomorrow._

_Thanks again everyone! You guys are awesome. ;o)  
_


	29. Chapter 29

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_Okay, so this was going to be a long one, and since I ran out of time and had said yesterday that I would post today I decided to split it into two parts. I'll do my best to get the second half posted tomorrow so you all don't have to wait around for it. _

_ummm, don't think there's really much I have to cover here so I'm just going to say thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! ;o) You all rock!_

_*********************************************  
_

**Edward**

We walked over as a group to the building that contained the front office and Principal Dent's office. Jasper and I walked at the front of the group and I could tell he was there to keep an eye on me, to make sure that I didn't snap again. I had no immediate plans to, but then again, with James so close to me I wasn't making any guarantees.

Now that I was away from Bella I wanted to get this shit over with as fast as possible, so I was walking quickly. The others could either keep up or go fuck themselves, I wasn't in the mood for patience.

We reached the office building and I went in to find Mrs. Clarkson sitting behind the counter. She raised her eyebrow in question at Jasper and I, but before she could ask what we needed Mr. McDonall and the others walked in so she turned to face them instead.

"This group needs to see Principal Dent," he said to her.

"Let me buzz him, give me just a second," she answered.

"James, go back to the bathroom and clean up your face a little. When we're done here you can head over to see the nurse," McDonall said.

James walked back to the bathroom, then emerged a minute or so later, still looking like shit but no longer covered in blood.

I had gotten him good. His left eye was swollen almost shut, already bruising. His right cheek was turning purple, his lip was split in several places. His nose had been bleeding and, though I hoped I had managed to break it, I doubted it as it looked like the bleeding had pretty much stopped. I took a grim satisfaction in seeing how badly he was banged up.

McDonall tossed him an ice pack he had managed to dig up and told James to take a seat with the rest of us.

Two minutes later our group was back in the Principal's office. The office definitely wasn't made to fit that many people comfortably, there was just barely enough chairs for all of us. It was feeling a bit claustrophobic in there.

We all sat down, Jasper and Emmett choosing the seats between James and I, taking no chances I guessed. Mr. McDonall was standing up behind us and the whole lot of us were facing Principal Dent, who sat behind his large mahogany desk.

"Well, what happened?" Mr. Dent asked.

"Edward and James got into a fist fight at lunch. I brought Jasper and Emmett in as witnesses, and because they were the ones to break it up," McDonall answered.

"You call that a fight?" James asked indignantly. "That wasn't a fight, at least not a fair one. I was attacked! I didn't even have time to defend myself! Look at us! Cullen doesn't have a scratch on him and I look like I've been hit by a fucking dump truck!" he finished at a yell.

"Black! Mouth! You're in enough trouble as it is without adding to it," Mr. Dent said.

He looked both of us over quickly, obviously noticing that James very much looked the worse for wear.

"Is this true Mr. Cullen? Did you attack James, unprovoked?" he asked me.

I was doing my best to keep my temper reigned in. I knew that if I gave in to it here, in Dent's office, then it would only make things worse for me. As much as I wanted to go at it with James again, at the very least tell him what I thought about him, I wanted to try to salvage the situation as much as possible. I knew I was probably going to get suspended, but I was hoping for a minimum punishment. The less time I had to spend away from Bella, the better.

"No sir. I was running late to the cafeteria and I walked in just in time to see James hit Bella Swan. Hard. When I saw that my temper got the best of me and I went after him. I was defending her though. I had no idea whether or not James would attack her again," I answered.

It was only half true. I didn't know if James would have hit her again, but even if I had known that he had no intentions of doing so again, I still would have attacked him. My rage at seeing him lay a hand on her was so strong that there was no way I could have stopped myself from going after him. Still, Dent didn't need to know all of that.

"Is this true? Did Black hit Miss Swan?" he asked McDonall.

"Yes, unfortunately, he did. She's down at the nurses office now. Alice and Rosalie Cullen escorted her down there. It was obvious that Black's hitting of Bella Swan was what started the whole thing off," McDonall answered.

"Is she okay?" Dent asked McDonall.

"She's okay, but he got her good. She's going to be banged up for a while," he grimaced slightly before adding, "probably a long while."

Mr. Dent breathed a big sigh, closing his eyes in frustration. Finally he opened them again and picked up his phone, pushing a button then holding it up to his ear.

"Amanda, I need you to get me James Black's dad down here, Chief Swan, and either Dr. or Mrs. Cullen, whoever is available. Yes, a fight. No. His daughter was unfortunately involved. Yes, I know this is going to be trouble. Amanda, please just get them down here for me. Thank you," he said.

I was assuming that Amanda was Mrs. Clarkson from the front desk, but honestly hadn't known her first name until now.

I knew that Esme would be the one that they got a hold of. I knew though that she probably wouldn't be too upset with me, considering I had just been coming to Bella's defense, but still, I wasn't looking forward to this.

She would be disappointed in how I had chosen to react to the situation. Add in the fact that Chief Swan and Mr. Black would both be there and I was sure that I was going to have an uncomfortable afternoon, at the very least.

He turned to Mr. McDonall saying, "John, see if you can find someone to cover your last class, please. I have a feeling that we're going to need you here for this."

McDonall shook his head in assent, before slipping out to make his arrangements. Just then the phone buzzed and Mr. Dent picked it up.

"Yes?" he asked the person on the other end, before saying, "Okay good. Next could you call over to Debbie and tell her that Chief Swan will be here soon and that we'll send him her way when he gets here. Also, check on the status of Bella Swan, make sure she's all right. Buzz me again when the parents start showing up. Send Chief Swan over to Debbie's office first, so he can check on his daughter, then have him come back here so we can sort this out. Thank you, Amanda."

"Your parents should be here shortly. Meanwhile, while we're waiting, who would like to explain to me exactly what happened? Emmett, Jasper, how about one of you two?" he asked.

Emmett was the first to answer and I found myself wishing that Jasper had stepped up to the plate instead. I knew that Emmett's version would probably have Mr. Dent even more frustrated then he already was.

Emmett was a natural storyteller, always had been. Unfortunately, he could never tell when a situation needed a story and when it just needed a straight up explanation. I wasn't going to assume that this particular instance would be the first time he showed restraint in his telling.

"All right, Mr. D, this is how it went. So, there I was, sitting at my table with my family, minus Edward, minding my own business. I look up to see Bella and James walk through the door. I could tell right away that there was some drama going down, but it looked like Bella totally had that shit under control. Oops, sorry, it slipped. Won't happen again," he said, apologizing for his curse.

Mr. Dent snorted, but seemed willing to let it go. He must have realized that he had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

"Anyway, she went to walk away from James but he yanked her roughly back to him, which you could plainly see she wasn't happy about. She said something to him then, which I didn't catch because I was still sitting at our table. I could see that whatever it was she said had really got him worked up, you could just see the rage on his face."

"I could see what was going to happen before that shit went down. Oops, sorry, slipped again. Anyway, James let fly and hit Bella smack across the face, as hard as he could. If you had seen it you would understand Edward's reaction. He hit her so hard, she barely kept herself up right. Split her lip open. You could see the look of pain and shock on her face," he explained.

As he talked I could hear the change in his voice, which had started to darken as he remembered the scene. I had gotten to James before he had, but I knew he was probably on his way over there to do the same exact thing I had done, beat the shit out of him. I had stolen his chance to pay James back for hitting Bella.

The memory must have been too much for him, because suddenly he turned to James, saying, "You mother fucker. I should kill you right now for touching her, let alone hitting her. I warned you that if you hurt any of my family that you would pay, and that included Bella, you bastard!"

"Mr. Cullen!" Principal Dent yelled out, cutting Emmett off before he could go any farther. "You will wait outside in the front office until I call you back. Go! Now."

Emmett looked from him to James and, for a moment, I was afraid he was going to go after James in this little tiny office. If he did, I doubted that any of us would make it out unscathed.

Luckily he got control of himself though, and stood up to walk out.

Just before he walked out the door he turned back and said to James, "This isn't over between you and me, Black."

When the door closed behind him, Mr. Dent turned to Jasper asking, "Well Jasper, you want to pick up where he left off?"

"Everyone sat there frozen for a minute," Jasper said, then looked at me before continuing on. "Next thing I knew, James and Edward were flying across the cafeteria. Edward had apparently been on the other side and, having seen the attack, had gone after James. That's basically it. They fought, we broke them up, here we are."

I could tell that Jasper had tried to edit the rest of the story down to the bare essentials, in the hopes of keeping me from looking bad. I was thankful to him, knowing that his loyalty to me had won out over any need for dramatics.

"Thank you Jasper. All right, this is how this is going to play out. Edward and Jasper, you will wait out front with your brother until your parent shows up. James, you will wait here in my office. I don't trust you to wait together in the same room. Make no mistake Edward, James, you both are in big trouble for this. There is _never _an excuse for violence, do you understand?" he asked.

When I shook my head he dismissed Jasper and I. The two of us went out to find Emmett and wait for Esme to show up.

Emmett was leaning against the counter, talking to Mrs. Clarkson. When Jaz and I came out, however, he stepped away to find out what was going on.

"We're to wait out here until Esme shows up," Jaz answered.

As soon as he was done talking Emmett turned to me, saying, "Edward, I'm sorry. I should have gotten to them faster, but I swear, she looked like she had control over the situation."

I felt my anger rise at him and Jasper, both, for not getting James away from Bella as soon as the two of them hade walked into the cafeteria together.

"Weren't you the one telling us _just_ this morning to keep our eyes open? It was James, Emmett. Whether she had control over the situation or not, you shouldn't have chanced it," I said.

"I know, trust me, I know. If I could go back and change it I would, but there's nothing I can do about it now except apologize," he said.

Jasper cut in saying, "Edward, I don't think even if he had reacted as soon as he saw them walk in together that he could have stopped it. It happened so fast, I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't have made it in time. I doubt any of us would have."

I sighed in frustration. I knew it wasn't really their fault. I knew it was really myself I was mad at, but I had wanted someone to blame, and they were the easiest targets.

I should have been there for her. I should have been there after her class was done, like I had promised, but I had screwed up and got myself stuck with Mr. Antione after class. This was my fault. I had allowed it to happen.

I wanted to go to Bella, to check up on her. I needed to know that she was okay, see with my own two eyes that she was. I knew though that that would only make things worse. I had to wait here until our parents arrived, so that I could receive my punishment.

My only hope was that this would get James expelled. Even if it meant that I was expelled along with him, I didn't care, as long as he was far away from Bella and my family.

Just then the door to the office opened and Chief Swan walked in. I knew as soon as he spoke that he didn't know why they had called him over. I guess he just assumed they needed him in an official sense.

"Afternoon, Amanda. Dispatch radioed that I was needed over here. Everything okay?" he asked.

He hadn't noticed us when he walked in, but as he talked he turned and saw the three of us sitting off to the side.

"Emmett, Jasper, Edward. Don't tell me you three have gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?" he asked.

Before we could answer though Mrs. Clarkson interrupted him, explaining what was going on.

"Chief, there seems to have been a little incident. Unfortunately, your daughter was involved. From what I can understand, she was hit by another student. She's okay, she's over at the nurse's office. You can run over there to check on her, then when you're done, come back here and you can have a talk with Principal Dent," she explained.

"Hit? By who?" he was practically yelling.

He abruptly turned to the three of us saying, "Did one of you do it? One of you three hit her?"

The three of us jumped back a little, caught off guard by the rage in his voice.

We all answered at the same time, practically yelling out, "No, sir!" in response.

He looked to Mrs. Clarkson for confirmation, and when she nodded her head, backing us up, he grunted and calmed down slightly. Only very slightly though.

"I'm going to find my daughter and check on her, then I'm going to come back here and someone is going to explain top me exactly what happened," he said to Mrs. Clarkson.

Then he turned to the three of us, saying, "When I come back here, I want the three of you here still. You got that? None of you leaves here until I'm satisfied."

We all shook our heads in agreement, not wanting to upset him farther.

In truth though, it wasn't like I had any choice in the matter, and I was sure that both Jasper and Emmett would be happy to have the excuse to hang around and witness all of the fun.

Chief Swan was apparently satisfied with our nods, because he turned around and walked out.

Jasper was the first to talk, saying, "Well, this is going to be fun."

"I'm guessing James is about to have his ass handed to him by the good Chief. I'm only glad I'll be here to witness it," Emmett said.

Though I had to agree that it would be nice to see the Chief tear into James, it didn't pacify me at all. I was still pissed as hell at myself, Emmett and Jasper. Most of all, though, I was angry at James.

If that asshole rotted away in hell for the rest of eternity it still wouldn't be good enough for me. He had hit my Bella. The bastard wasn't going to get away with it. I was determined that he would get his, even if it was the last thing I ever did. James Black was going to pay, I'd make sure of it.

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**A/N:**

_Don't worry, we're almost through the drama. ;o) I'm not going to leave you hanging, we'll get to the good stuff._

_Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Love to hear what you thought so far. _

_Thanks guys!!_


	30. Chapter 30

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_Wow, so this one was much longer then I thought it was going to be. I'm really glad now I split into two chapters, otherwise this would have been crazy._

_Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone who has read this story all the way up to this point. And an ever bigger thank you to those of you who take the time to review! _

_Ummm, I have a couple of little notes for you, but as they all relate to this chapter, I'll save them till the end. Guess that's it for the moment. Hope you like it!_

_************************************************  
_

**Edward**

Not long after Chief Swan left to go find Bella, Esme arrived. When she walked into the office she turned to see Jasper, Emmett, and I sitting off to the side.

"What's going on? What happened? Is everyone all right?" she asked, panicking a little.

"Relax mom. We're fine. Edward here got into a little fight and Jasper and I are just here as bystanders. Principal Dent just tried to send up back to class, but Chief Swan ordered that we remain here, so remain here we have," Emmett explained.

I inwardly groaned, knowing that Emmett's explanation made everything actually sound worse than it was.

"Chief Swan? Edward! What did you do? They called in the police?" she practically yelled.

"No, Esme, calm down and I'll explain," I said, then waited to see if she would do so.

When I was satisfied that she had calmed down somewhat I explained. "Chief Swan is here because Bella was involved. She and James got into an argument today at lunch, he was bothering her and wouldn't leave her alone. She must have told him off, then he hit her hard, in front of me. I reacted by slamming into him and we fought. Emmett and Jasper pulled us apart and we got sent down here. Bella is at the nurse's office getting looked over, and Chief Swan just went off to find her. As you can imagine, he's not in the best of moods."

"James hit Bella? Is she all right? How bad was it?" she asked.

Poor Esme. I could imagine how confusing this must have been to walk into, trying to sort your way through.

Jasper answered, saying, "She seemed okay. She's certainly going to have her fair share of bruises, but she seemed to be handling the situation well."

I swelled up with pride as I realized that Bella had handled things well. Really well actually. She hadn't gone into hysterics, or even cried. She'd actually been the one to help calm me down and see that I had to come to the principal's office. My Bella, she was seriously amazing.

Esme had been looking at Jasper while he talked, but when he was done she turned her attention to me. Either she was satisfied that Bella was indeed okay, or she determined to see for herself later, either way she focused all of her attention on me just then.

"Are you okay? You don't really look as though you've been in a fight. I don't see any bruising or swelling. Should I call your father and have him come look at you?" she asked.

As she talked she reached out and lightly grabbed my chin, turning my head from side to side to get the best look at it.

Emmett answered for me, and this time I could definitely hear pride come through in his voice.

"Mom, it was great. James never got a single punch in. I don't know how long they were fighting for, a good couple of minutes at least, but Edward didn't take one hit. James, however, wasn't so lucky. He looks like shit," he said.

"Emmett, watch your mouth," Esme said.

"Sorry," he answered, not looking the least bit sorry at all.

Just then the door to the office opened and in walked Mr. Black. We all turned to look at him and he stared blankly at us for a few seconds before approaching Esme.

"Esme. Good to see you," he said .

"Caius. It's good to see you too," Esme said, with no warmth in her voice.

There was no love between our parents and James father. They had tolerated each other for as long as we had been friends, but had never gone out of their way to associate with each other. As soon as it became clear that their children were no longer going to be friends they put even more distance between themselves.

Last year, after everything James had done, they actually did their best to avoid each other all together. They were cordial in public, but I know for a fact that Carlisle and Caius, at least, have had had it out at least once, in private.

Esme shook the hand Caius had offered, but I could tell she did so almost unwillingly. I was suddenly glad that Chief Swan would be part of this little encounter, so that Esme wouldn't have to face off against Caius on her own.

Mrs. Clarkson interrupted their greeting to say, "As soon as Chief Swan gets back I'll send you all back. He should be back any moment now."

"Chief Swan? What's going on?" Caius asked.

"It seems as though our sons got into a fight, after your son hit Chief Swan's daughter, Bella," Esme answered coldly.

Though he said nothing in response, I could see his eyes flash and knew no matter what the outcome here today, James would have to face his father's fury.

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**Charlie**

When I left the nurse's office after seeing Bella I was out for blood. Some little dickhead bastard had hit my little girl and he was going to pay.

God damn it. Why the hell was that little shitheel James even allowed back to Forks High? I thought he had been suspended last year, he shouldn't have been here now.

My walk from the nurse's office to the front office didn't calm me down at all, and when I reached the front office I yanked open the door, not caring about the reaction of those within.

I walked in and turned to see that Mr. Black and, strangely, Mrs. Cullen were both standing in the front office. Good, I wouldn't have to wait long.

I turned to Amanda, who was standing behind the counter, nodded towards Principal Dents office and asked, "How long?"

"Give me a second to buzz him Chief, let him know you're all here," she answered.

I nodded my head, letting her know that that was all right. This mess wasn't Amanda's fault, after all, so I didn't want to take any of my anger out on her.

I turned to Mrs. Cullen, acknowledging her with a tilt of my head, then looked over at the Cullen boys still sitting in the chairs on the side of the room. It looked like I was a step behind here because I couldn't figure out what they had to do with anything.

"How are you boys connected to this?" I asked the three of them.

Emmett was the first to answer, smiling as he said, "James hit Bella, Edward kicked the shit out of James."

"Emmett! Language, please!" Mrs. Cullen, obviously feeling a more than a little frustrated, yelled at him.

"Sorry mom. He really did though, wait till you see him," Emmett went on, unapologetically.

I turned to stare at Edward, hard. He didn't look like he had a scratch on him, certainly didn't look like he'd be in a fight recently. This wasn't coming together for me yet.

I didn't understand why Edward, the most recent addition to my daughter's small circle of friends, would be the one who fought James over his attack on Bella. Emmett and Bella were particularly close, almost acting like brother and sister at times, so why had Edward been the one to react?

"You fought James over this?" I asked Edward, unable to hide the skepticism in my voice.

"Yes, sir. I did," was the only answer he gave me.

Well, that didn't do much to clear things up for me. I figured everything would come together for me back in Principal Dent's office though, so I let it go.

Just then Amanda told us we could all head back, excepting Emmett and Jasper who were told to stay where they were at. Emmett let out a groan, clearly upset by being left out, but Jasper seemed to have expected that they would have to wait out front.

I turned and headed towards Dent's office, determined to get answers to all of my questions, and to make sure James got the punishment he deserved.

I was the first one through the door, followed by Mrs. Cullen, Mr. Black, with Edward bringing up the rear. All of us stopped dead when James finally turned to look at us, shock hitting us all at the exact same moment.

He was a wreck, it was the only way to describe it. He had an ice pack in his hand, most likely giving his face a break from it, but it was obviously not doing him any good. It seemed like most of his face was swollen, his left eye almost to the point where it wouldn't open. He was varying degrees of purple, and his mouth looked like he had tried to drink from a shattered glass.

The office was silent as we all processed what we were seeing. This wasn't what I had been expecting. Emmett had told me that Edward had fought with James, but I assumed that since Edward was unscathed that James for the most part would be too. Obviously, I had underestimated Edward.

I turned to him now, the first to react, and asked, "You did this to him?"

He looked at me, then nodded once, quickly. I could see no regret on his face, no embarrassment, or shame. I could only see anger, as if he didn't think James had gotten enough. It occurred to me that this boy must have strong feelings for my daughter, but I tucked that thought aside for the moment, realizing now wasn't the time to deal with it.

I looked over at James again. I wished I could say that I felt bad for him, or that I thought that Edward's reaction had been uncalled for, but I didn't feel that at all. I felt a smug satisfaction when I looked at him, at his bruises, and could only think that he deserved more. It was definitely the father in me reacting and not the cop.

I momentarily felt proud of Edward for so obviously standing up for my daughter when she needed someone to. He might not have been able to stop her from getting hit, but he sure as hell made sure the person who had done it to her was paid in kind. I thought that Bella was lucky to count him as a friend, and hope she realized it. I determined then and there that I would stand up and fight for him here, to make sure his punishment was fair.

Two things happened at once. Mrs. Cullen turned to Edward in shock and said, "You did this to him?" At the same time Mr. Black yelled loudly, "What the hell happened here?"

Principal Dent looked slightly nonplussed, but generally seemed in control as he said, "If we can all take a seat, we'll try to work through it."

The four of us found seats, having to grab one from out front first, and waited for Dent to explain.

I looked over at James trying to read his face. He didn't look repentant at all. In fact, he looked somewhat annoyed, as if we were bothering him. I realized then how glad I was that Edward had managed to rough him up, because I knew if he hadn't done so, I probably wouldn't have been able to stop myself from doing so now.

**********************************************

**Edward**

_Finally_ we were all going back in to talk to Dent. It had only been like a twenty minute wait for all of our parents to get there, but it had felt like much longer. It was twenty minutes of regret and worry over Bella, of wondering if she was okay and wishing I could see her.

I forgot that the parents had yet to see James and so wasn't really expecting the reaction they had, upon seeing his face. Chief Swan calmly turned to me and asked if I was the one responsible for James's face, which wasn't so bad of a reaction. Esme and Caius, however, both freaked out a little.

I realized that, unlike Chief Swan, they hadn't seen Bella yet, so had nothing to compare this with, had no idea if my reaction had been justified or cruel. They hadn't seen how hard James had hit her, all they were seeing was James beaten face.

I refused to feel regret. James had deserved what he got, and much more actually. This, I was sure of.

Principal Dent calmed everyone down and got us all into chairs. The door to the office opened and Mr. McDonall walked in. He looked around and realized that there was not only no chair in sight, but there was probably no way we'd be able to fit another one into the room, even if we tried. So instead he opted for leaning up against the wall.

Principal Dent was the first to speak, saying "All right, the incident happened at lunch today. I believe Mr. McDonall was on hand and witnessed the whole thing, right Mr. McDonall?" he turned to ask McDonall as he spoke.

"Yes, I saw the whole thing from start to end," McDonall answered.

"Perhaps you could explain to us all what exactly happened?" Dent asked.

"Sure," McDonall said as he walked up to Dent's desk so that no one would be forced to turn around to look at him as he spoke.

McDonall proceeded to lay out everything that had happened, from James hitting Bella to Emmett breaking up our fight. I was surprised by how much he had actually caught. He was very observant, more so than what I would have expected.

When he was done the room got quiet while everyone processed everything.

Principal Dent, obviously wanting to retain control of the room, spoke up first, saying "So, we have two separate issues to deal with here. James hitting Bella, and Edward and James fighting. Let's deal with James first, since it's more cut and dry."

He paused to see if there were any objections, and when everyone stayed quiet he turned to James, saying, "James. This isn't your first offense, not even close. You were permitted to come back here on a probationary period, which unfortunately you haven't made it through. You not only hit a student, unprovoked, but that student was a female, making your offense all the worse. I feel I have no other option but to expel you. You will be permitted to collect your things from your locker and see the nurse if you wish, but then you are no longer considered a student here at Forks High."

"But look at him! Look at the beating he took today! This obviously wasn't a fair fight by any standards, how can you expel him for this?" James's father yelled.

"Mr. Black, your son is being expelled for his treatment of Isabella Swan, added on top of his previous record, not for the fight that happened afterwards, which we will deal with now." Dent answered calmly.

Caius looked like he was going to argue some more, but shut his mouth firmly, and waited to see what would happen next.

"Edward. This is your first offense, the first time you've been in this office for any kind of disciplinary matter. Though your reaction wasn't completely unjustified, it also wasn't the right one. At most you should have separated James from Isabella, until a teacher could come to handle the situation. If at that point James had refused to back down I could see using physical force to get him to do so then. You, however, attacked him. While I can't say that I blame you, I cannot condone your behavior. Because this is your first offense I'm giving you three days suspension. After your three days are up, you may return to school," he said to me.

I thought all things considered, it was pretty fair. I hadn't expected to get off free and clear. I had literally attacked James after all. As much as he deserved it, I knew that I was supposed to leave it to the teachers to handle. No way I would have done that though.

I was satisfied with this outcome. I would happily accept my three days suspension, knowing that James had gotten the beating he deserved and was getting expelled on top of it.

I nodded my head in acceptance of Dent's pronouncement of my sentence. I looked over to see Esme looking at me, trying to see what my reaction would be. When I nodded my head at Dent I thought, for a second, that a look of pride crossed her face. It had flashed too fast for me to catch, and I was too worked up still to focus enough to try to read her mind.

Dent looked to Esme to see if she would have any objections but, like me, she nodded her acquiesce.

"Chief Swan? Is this outcome acceptable to you?" Dent asked.

Before Chief Swan could answer though, Caius loudly interrupted him, yelling, "Wait a minute here! My son gets expelled for hitting a student, and Cullen here gets three days suspension? That's it? How is that fair?"

"As I've explained already, Mr. Black. Your son has a previous record here. On top of that, he was here on a probationary trial period. You, yourself, agreed that should he step out of line again, he would be expelled. He obviously did so today. Mr. Cullen, on the other hand, has never been in trouble before today, and frankly was just coming to the defense of Miss Swan. If it wasn't school policy to suspend anyone who initiates a fight for three days, he probably wouldn't have even gotten that," Dent explained.

"Look at my son though! He's had the shit kicked out of him! The person responsible for this deserves more than three days punishment!" Black yelled.

"Now hold on a minute, Black! You didn't see what your son did to my daughter! She looks almost as bad as he does, and she did nothing to deserve that. Your son, however, hit my daughter, a female! He deserved exactly what he got, if nor more!" Chief Swan cut in, his temper kicking in.

"Gentlemen! Can we please calm down?" Esme said loudly, trying to get control of the situation before it spiraled any further.

She succeeded in calming the two men down before any more violence broke out. Mr. Dent cleared his throat, trying to get everyone's attention again.

"Mr. Black. These punishments are nonnegotiable. The decision has already been made. Nothing you will say will convince me to change my mind on this matter," Dent said.

"Fine," Caius said, looking as if he had just come up with a new approach. He turned to Chief Swan and continued, saying, "Chief Swan, I would like to file assault charges against Edward Cullen."

Esme gasped in horror, looking over at me then at Chief Swan. I turned to look at Chief Swan, to see what he would do, if he would willingly arrest me or not.

Chief Swan stared long and hard and Black. I could see that he was trying to get control of his anger. Then, when he had done so I could see that he was trying to decide how to proceed. Hesitating over something.

Finally, he answered, saying, "All right. Here's the deal, Black. I was planning on charging your son with assault and battery for what he did to my daughter. However, if you let this go without pressing charges against Edward, I will consider the schools punishment enough, and not press charges against your son."

I was both stunned and extremely grateful to the Chief. I knew how hard it had to be for him to offer this as a trade-off to keep Black from filing charges against me. I wasn't sure that I would be able to do the same, in his place.

I could see Esme blinking back tears, whether from the stress of the whole situation or from gratitude to the Chief, I wasn't sure. I would have guessed though, that it was the latter.

I looked over to see how James and his father were taking this. James looked like he couldn't give a shit, but his father looked like he was trying to fight an apoplexy. His face had gone completely red and he looked like he was about to lose all control.

After a silent struggle he spat out, "Fine! We won't press charges. James! We're leaving! Come on. Now!"

With that he stood up to leave, James following quickly and quietly behind him. I knew that tonight would be a bad night for James, and found only pleasure in that thought.

Esme immediately turned to Chief Swan, saying, "Oh, Chief. How can I ever thank you? I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you! Thank you. Edward and I both thank you."

I turned to him to offer my thanks as well, but he cut me off saying, "Please, call me Charlie, Mrs. Swan. And, there's no need to thank me. Your boy got himself into trouble defending my daughter. I consider us more than even."

"If I'm to call you Charlie, please, call me Esme. And, thank you, sincerely. How is Bella? In all the excitement I haven't had a chance to ask," Esme said.

"She's pretty bruised up. Not as bad as James, but it'll be a few days, at least, before she's back to normal again. She seems to be handling it well though, and your daughters are with her, which I'm sure is helping. Your children seem to all really care for her, and for that I want to thank them. I was worried she wouldn't make any friends on her move here, that she wouldn't be happy. But she gets along great with your crew, and seems genuinely happy now," he said.

"My children love Bella. We're all very happy to have her around. I know my husband, Carlisle, and myself, are both very thankful for her as well," Esme said.

Principal Dent cleared his throat, obviously wanting to wrap this little session up.

"Mrs. Cullen, feel free to take all of your children home with you now. There isn't much time left till the end of school, and it would be pretty pointless for them to go back to class. Rosalie and Alice are waiting with Bella in the nurse's office. You'll keep Edward home for the next three days?" he asked.

"Yes, Principal Dent, I will. And thank you, for everything," Esme said.

Dent nodded his head at her, turning to Chief Swan next, asking, "What did the nurse say regarding your daughter Chief?"

"That I should keep her home for at least tomorrow. To keep an eye on her, but let her just generally relax," he answered.

"That won't be a problem. We'll write her in as excused for tomorrow, and if she's not feeling up to it, the next day as well. There's no rush, she should take her time and come back when she's ready," he said.

With that we all stood to leave. Dent shook hands with Esme and Charlie, then we turned to walk out the door. I was really relieved to have this whole thing behind us, and couldn't wait to see Bella again.

Charlie and Esme were chatting the whole way out to the front office. When we got out into the main room I saw Emmett and Jasper waiting impatiently for an update. When they leaned around to get a look at me, I winked at them, but held quiet.

Chief Swan turned to Mrs. Clarkson and asked, "Amanda, would it be all right if I used your phone? I want to call the station and let them know that I won't be coming back today, or in tomorrow."

As Mrs. Clarkson handed him the phone he turned to Esme, saying, "I don't want to leave Bella home alone after this."

"Charlie, why doesn't she come back to our house? She could even spend the night if she wanted to. I'll be home all night and all day tomorrow, and Edward will be home to keep her company as well. That way you wouldn't have to worry about her, but you could go back to work," she said.

He paused, thinking her offer over. Finally he said, "I wouldn't want to impose. It's not a big deal, I can miss a day or two at work."

"Nonsense," she replied. "Look, she can go home and grab her stuff, I'm sure my daughters would both gladly go with her. Then she can come back to our house, spending the night, and when you get done work tomorrow night she can head back home. Why don't you come for dinner tonight when you get off work? We eat late anyway, because of Carlisle's schedule, and I know he would love the chance to get to know you better."

I thought it was brilliant actually. Not only would I get to see Bella this way, but we would get the day together tomorrow, just the two of us.

Charlie hesitated, but I could see he really liked the idea. He was worried about his daughter and wanted to know that she was safe and being cared for, but I know he didn't like the idea of bailing on work either. This took care of both, his fatherly worries, and his commitment to work.

Esme could see that he was wavering, so she gave it one more good push. "It would make me feel better about you having to let James off because of Edward. It's the least we can do to repay you."

"I don't need repaying, but, if it will make you feel better, then that would be great. As long as Bella is okay with it," he said.

"Oh good, we can go ask her now when we walk over to the nurse's office. You'll come for dinner tonight as well?" she asked.

"That would be great. It would allow me to spend some time with Bella, to know that she's doing okay. Thank you, Esme, really. This means a lot to me," Charlie finished.

Esme smiled in return. She then turned to Jasper and Emmett, saying, "All right boys, let's go."

The two of them stood up, quietly, and we all followed her and the Chief out. Jasper and Emmett were being remarkably quiet, and I got the feeling they were waiting to pounce when we weren't around the parents.

When we got outside, Esme turned to Charlie, saying, "Charlie, I'll meet you over at the nurse's office in a minute. I want to talk to the boys real fast, before I send them home."

"Sure, no problem," Charlie said.

He then said goodbye to Emmett and Jasper, before walking over to me, offering his hand to shake.

"Thank you, Edward, for coming to my daughter's defense today," he said.

"It was my pleasure, Chief Swan," I said.

"I thought I told you to call me Charlie," he said to me, as he winked, then turned to head to the nurse's office.

I looked over at Esme curiously, wondering what was going on. I had no plans of heading home without seeing Bella, and was just about to tell her so, when she cut me off.

"Edward, stop, I know what you're going to say. You and your brothers are going to head home now, while I go talk to your sisters and tell them the plan. I know you want to wait to see Bella and make sure she's okay, but it's not going to happen here," she said, pausing to stare me down.

"Think about this. I've been thinking about what you did today, and what that could mean in terms of your feelings for Bella. Do you really want to see her for the first time, after the incident, in front of her father? I doubt you'll be able to hide your emotions, do you want him seeing them too? Because, I can guarantee you, that if he sees all your emotions laid bare, there's no way he's trusting us with Bell overnight. Not even with your father and I present. I trust you, I know you and know that you will be respectful to Bella. I know that you won't take advantage of the situation. Charlie, however, is feeling very protective over his only daughter right now, very understandably so. I doubt he'd feel as trusting towards you under the circumstances," she said.

Damn! I didn't want to have to wait any longer to see Bella. I needed to know that she was okay. At the same time, I wanted this time with her, and I knew she would want to spend the night at our house. Knew that she would want to be with Alice and Rosalie tonight, to be surrounded by her friends, the people knew the whole story.

I turned and walked away a little, trying to get control over myself. I ran my hands through my hair as I weighed out the pros and cons.

I wanted to be able to see Bella now, but have her be able to spend the night, and tomorrow, over at our house. I selfishly wanted both things at the same time. I had to look at what was best for Bella though, what would benefit her the most.

After a minute or so of silent deliberation, I let out a deep breath in frustration, knowing what I had to do.

Before I could change my mind, and while I still had enough control to do so, I turned and started walking towards my car, calling out as I went, "Jasper, Emmett. Let's go."

I made it to my car, without looking back, knowing that if I did my resolve would weaken. I unlocked my car doors and hopped in, not asking or caring whether Jasper or Emmett needed to get anything out of the school.

As soon as I knew they were in the car, I put it in gear and pulled out. I would wait a little longer before I saw Bella, but I promised myself I would make it worth the wait. For the both of us.

******************************************

**A/N:**

_So, we had a little surprise guest appearance in there. I hadn't planned on including Charlie's PoV into this one, but when I went to write this chapter I couldn't get the feeling out of my head that he needed to have a voice here. So I gave him a small section. Anyway, on to the notes._

_Because some of you will probably comment on these two things...First. James wasn't expelled last year because, although he had gotten into trouble here and there, it was never quite enough to make them take action against him on a permanent basis. Yes, he crashed Edward's car, yes he put a cherry bomb into his locker, but remember, there was no proof against him for either of those things. His dad yanked him out before he could screw up again and the school was more than happy to see him gone, but he was never officially expelled. When his dad tried to bring him back they had had no reason to say no, but they weren't happy about it and tried to convince him to take James somewhere else. It was finally agreed on that they would give it a trial period. Obviously, James didn't make it through._

_Secondly, about Edward's punishment. I based this on my old school. If you started a fight there, no matter how good the reasons for it, you were automatically suspended for three days. This was school policy. I applied the same thing here, because that's what I know. Beyond that though, I wanted Dent to have something he could use to try to placate Caius with. Plus, it gave me a reason to keep Bella and Edward home together. Dent is actually a really fair man though, and would have gladly let Edward off without any real punishment, if it wasn't school policy. And before you say that he's the principal and should be able to change that, rememember he has the board of education to answer to. _

_lol, can you tell I think this stuff through? I do, I seriously have a backstory for everything. If you ever want to know why the characters did something, or why I wrote something a particular was, please feel free to ask, as I probably have a reason for it. _

_I think that's everything I need to cover about this chapter. If I've forgotten anything, I'm sure someone will think to ask. ;o) _

_I don't know when the next chapter will be up, honestly. I'm exhausted after this last bit and I've been outlining the next chapter in my head and it looks to be another long one. So, if I split it up into two, it might be up tomorrow. If I hold off and do one long one, it might take me two or three days. Which one I choose will really depend on how it goes during writing. If I can find a spot to split it so that it doesn't just feel like I'm going, 'All right, enough for now', then I'll probably do two chapters._

_We're done with one story-line and we're about to start the next (and last). We're getting to the stuff you all have been looking forward to, and to the bits I've been looking forward to, as well...which aren't necessarilly the same bits. ;o) Anyway, just wanted to give a little heads up. _

_All right, thanks again everyone! If you like it so far, tell your friends. Spread the word! lol, yeah, that's right, I'm pimping myself (or at least my story) out. I have no shame! lol_


	31. Chapter 31

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_I'm really sorry guys! I know you've been waiting patiently for an update, and I know I never take this long between chapters normally, I honestly had no idea I would this time. It's allergy season and I've had a really bad sinus headache for the past few days, making it hard to spend any good length of time on the computer. I tried working on the chapter, but only managed a little bit here and there. Yesterday I was able to write again, and I finished the chapter in the evening, but it needed a LOT of work. So, it didn't get posted till today (obviously). Once again, I'm really sorry for making you wait so long!!! Anyway, hope you can forgive me. _

_Went back to Alice's PoV again here for a little bit. I hadn't meant to, but for the life of me I couldn't get it started from Bella's. Here you go, hope you enjoy it._

_**************************************************  
_

**Alice**

We waited in the nurse's office, for like twenty minutes, for Charlie to get back. The entire time we waited, Rose and I were watching Bella's bruises getting darker and darker. I could tell from the way Rose was sneaking little glances at Bella's face, then looking nervously at me, that we were both thinking the same thing…Edward was going to flip out.

Everything had happened so fast that he hadn't really gotten a chance to see the damage inflicted on Bella by James. He saw some of it, like her busted lip and the swelling, but the bruising hadn't started settling in yet when he had to go off to the front office.

Looking at her face, and the different shades of purple it was already turning, I was a little nervous that my brother would try to go after James again. It wasn't that I was worried Edward wouldn't be able to handle himself with James or anything, he had grown up wrestling with Emmett after all. No, I was worried that a second encounter would end with Edward getting arrested for assault.

Even knowing about my brother's feelings for Bella, knowing that he had finally admitted to himself that he loved her, I was still surprised by his reaction today. Edward never resorted to violence, always keeping a firm grip on his temper. When I saw him and James go flying through the air, I knew that I hadn't even begun to guess at the depth of his feelings for her.

Which was why I was starting to get worried about him seeing her again. I didn't know what getting a look at her bruised up face would do to him, but I doubted it would be good. I was hoping to postpone their reunion until James was safely away. As much as I wanted to see James get his just deserts, I didn't want to see my brother get into any more trouble than he was already in.

I was pulled out of my reverie when the door opened and Charlie walked in. He paused in the doorway and I could see him taking stock of Bella's face. He hadn't been gone that long, but I knew that he had to notice a difference in the bruising on her face between just twenty minutes ago and now.

As he walked in, he greeted Rose and I, then said to Bella, "How are you feeling, kiddo?"

"I'm fine, dad. I'm sure it looks a lot worse than it feels. How'd everything go at the front office? What happened?" she asked.

"Edward got suspended for three days and James got expelled," he answered.

With that, the three of us burst into spontaneous cheers. Charlie smiled at our reaction, but our yells of delight must have scared Mrs. Neffron, because she came rushing out of her office with a startled look on her face.

I was the first to recover, saying, "Oh, we're sorry Mrs. Neffron! We didn't mean to scare you. It's just that we got some good news and couldn't contain our excitement."

Seeing that Charlie was with us, she refrained from lecturing us, instead saying, "It's okay dear. Everything go okay, Chief Swan?" she asked as she turned to him.

"Yup, all taken care of," he said.

I had a feeling that Charlie wasn't one for spreading anything he considered to be gossip. This seemed to fall into that category for him. I could tell Mrs. Neffron was a bit frustrated that she hadn't gotten more out of him, but couldn't think of a way to find out what she wanted to know.

Just then the door opened and Esme walked in. As soon as she saw Bella's face she was across the room, almost running in her rush to get to Bella.

"Good god, Bella! What did he do to you? Are you okay?" she asked, her voice tinged with anxiety.

"It's okay Esme, I'm fine. I bruise pretty easily so it probably looks horrible, but it's not that bad," Bella answered.

I was sure that Bella would be having this same conversation over and over again for the next few days. She really did look banged up though. Considering how much she hated the spotlight, I was anticipating that the next few days would be hell for her.

"Well, I want to have Carlisle look at you tonight when he gets home, just to make sure you're okay. If you want, we could take a quick trip over to see him on our way home, I'm sure he'd want you to come in so he could get a look," Esme said.

"Home?" I asked. "Is Bella coming to our house tonight?"

We had been planning to ask that exact same thing, but it seemed like our parents had already beat us to the punch, working out all the details without us.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Esme said, turning to Bella. "Seeing your bruises shocked me so much, I'm not thinking clearly. When they said you were hit by James I hadn't understood how hard he got you. Your dad and I talked and, if it's okay with you, we thought it would be nice if you spent the night with Alice and Rose, at our house. That way, your dad can go back to work tonight and go in tomorrow, knowing that he's not leaving you home alone. Also, Edward was suspended for three days, so the two of you can even hang out tomorrow, if you wanted to."

Bella looked to her dad, then back to Esme, before answering, saying, "Are you sure it wouldn't be any trouble? I don't want to cause you any problems."

"It wouldn't be any trouble at all, Bella, we'd love to have you. Plus, it would allow me to pay your dad back," Esme said.

"Pay Charlie back for what?" I asked, curious about what she could mean.

"Caius Black wanted to charge Edward with assault after he found out that Edward would only be getting a suspension, while James was going to get expelled. Charlie offered him an exchange. He wouldn't charge Edward, and Charlie wouldn't charge James," Esme explained.

I was instantly grateful to Charlie, knowing how much it must have irked him to let James off the hook. I really didn't want to see my brother arrested though and, from the look of relief on her face, I didn't think Bella would either.

Charlie got back on topic, asking Bella, "Is that all right with you, Bella? Going back to Rose and Alice's house for the night? If you'd rather come home, I'll take off from work. I'm sure they could handle it without me."

"I'd love to go over to their house. We were actually going to ask if you guys would mind if I went over, but you beat us to the punch," Bella answered.

"Good, it's all settled then. Why don't we head out? The boys already left so we'll meet them back home. Principle Dent has given you girls permission to leave early. He didn't think it would really be worth it at this point for you to go back to class," Esme said.

That was more than fine with us. It would have been hard for us to concentrate on class at this point, and I know I was looking forward to seeing the others and getting their side of what happened after we split up.

We thanked Mrs. Neffron and headed out. As we walked out to the parking lot I pulled back some, wanting to talk to Esme. She seemed to know what I wanted and slowed her steps down, until we were walking side by side, a little ways away from the others.

"How'd you convince Edward to go home without seeing us first?" I asked

"You mean, how did I convince Edward to go home without seeing Bella first?" she clarified.

I smiled at her, not surprised that she had picked up on Edward's feelings for Bella. Esme didn't miss much, especially when it came to her family.

"Right. How'd you get him to leave Bella?" I asked.

"I just explained that it might be better if he saw Bella for the first time, after everything that happened, when Charlie wasn't around. I doubt Charlie would want Bella spending the night after seeing Edward's feelings for Bella laid bare for everyone to see. After seeing what James did to her, I'm even more glad that I sent him home. I doubt your brother will be able to contain himself upon seeing the damage James inflicted on her. He tries to keep too firm of a grasp on his emotions, I have a feeling he's about to lose control. I just hope he's ready for that," she said.

I knew he was. I knew that he had come to grips with how he felt for Bella, deciding to give his feelings for her free reign instead of fighting them, like he had been. Whatever was about to happen I was sure that Edward, at least, was ready for it.

My only hope was that Bella would be ready for it as well.

*******************************************

**Bella**

Rose and Alice decided to ride with me. We stopped at Charlie's house to grab my things first, before we headed back to their house. Esme had said she'd meet us back there when we were done, then she thanked Charlie and left.

I said bye to Charlie, assuring him that I would be fine at the Cullen's house, and told him I'd see him at dinner.

That had been a surprise. Esme told us about her invite to dinner, and Charlie's acceptance of it, when we reached the cars. I thought that it might be a little awkward having my dad at the Cullen's house. I knew, though, that it would make him feel better about going back to work instead of staying home with me, so I didn't really mind.

We decided that I would let someone else drive the truck, since I still had a headache. I wasn't feeling horrible but, at the same time, I wasn't really feeling up to driving either.

Alice quickly declared that she would drive. The speed with which she volunteered reminded me that all of the Cullen's complained about Rose's driving. Thinking about that made me grateful that Alice volunteered to drive before Rose had had the chance. After everything that I had been through today, I didn't think I needed a car accident added in on top of it all.

We chatted easily all the way to Charlie's house. I was glad that Rose had finally decided that she wanted to be my friend, as it was nice hanging out with her and Alice.

I really liked it when the three of us were together. The dynamic was a lot different when Rose was around. Her and Alice went back and forth a lot, playfully, which was fun for me to watch. As an only child, I got a kick out of watching the Cullen's interactions with each other. I felt like I was part of a big family when I was around them, even if I was the outsider. They never made me feel like the outsider though and that was the only thing that mattered.

They were doing that now, going back and forth, teasing each other. I wasn't sure if they were doing it to try to distract me from the pain, or trying to distract themselves. I knew that they were probably anxious to see Edward and find out how everything went, as was I.

Charlie and Esme filled us in a little, but we all knew that we weren't getting any of the details out of them that we wanted. We needed the boys, and in particular Edward, who I knew would have been privy to everything, to find out all the behind the scenes happenings.

We pulled up to Charlie's house, climbing out of my truck and heading into the house. This was actually the first time Rose had ever been to my house. I gave her a quick tour before we headed upstairs to my room.

I excused myself, while Rose and Alice plopped down on my bed. I headed to the bathroom to grab some aspirin for my headache. When I looked in the mirror on the medicine cabinet, I was shocked to see how dark the bruises on my face had gotten.

No wonder everyone kept staring at me and asking me if I was okay. I looked bad, there was just no denying it. The swelling looked like it was going down, but the bruises were several shades of purple. Not very attractive looking, to say the least.

I really did bruise easily, as I had told Esme. I was sure that if this had been someone else it wouldn't have been this bad. My pale skin made any kind of mark stand out though, while even the slightest bump or hit usually left a bruise. It looked more like I had been punched rather than slapped.

I sighed in frustration, knowing that everyone would be staring at me for the next couple of days, wondering what had happened to me. Not exactly something I was looking forward to.

I headed back to my room so that I could pack up some of my things and we could get out of there. Alice and Rose waited patiently for me. When I was done we headed out to my truck, Alice hopping into the drivers seat again.

"Are you feeling any better?" Rose asked.

"Not yet, but I just took some aspirin, hopefully that will help soon. My face is a little sore but, right now, it's the headache that's giving me the most trouble. As soon as that goes away, I'll feel almost back to normal," I answered.

"When we get back to our house you can go lay down for a little while, if you want. That would probably help with the headache," Rose said.

"I'd rather find out about what we missed while stuck at the nurse's office. I'm sure I'll feel better soon anyway," I said.

"Just promise us that if you start feeling too bad you'll let us know. We can always go over everything later, after you're feeling better," Alice said.

"All right, I will. Thanks guys," I promised.

Just then we pulled into their driveway, where Alice pulled my truck up to the house and parked. We all climbed out and I looked up just in time to see the front door fly open and Edward come shooting out, practically at a run.

I looked around trying to see what had him in such a panic, thinking maybe something was wrong. I expected him to tell Alice or Rose that something had happened, but instead, he came running up to me, stopping just a foot away.

We stared at each other for a minute. I was trying to figure out what was going on, figure out why he was just staring at me, when it occurred to me that he was looking at the damage done to my face. His run out of the house had me so distracted that I had almost forgotten about everything that had happened.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw both Rose and Alice head into the house, leaving the two of us alone outside.

Edward took a half-step towards me, his right hand coming up to the side of my face, slowly, as if he was afraid he would startle me.

He rubbed the back of his hand lightly over my lips, staring intently as he did so. His hand then went up to the side of my face, cupping my bruised cheek. His touch was so light, so cautious, that I could barely feel it. He was being careful not to hurt me.

He stood there, frozen, for a few seconds before his thumb started lightly stroking my cheek. His eyes were on fire, but I couldn't read the emotions there. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

I wondered for a second if it was anger I was seeing, directed at James. I didn't think so though. Anger might have been mixed in there, but it was definitely not the only emotion, or even the dominate one, right now.

We sat there like that for a minute, as if we were both afraid to move, afraid to break the spell. Finally, Edward's hand moved from my cheek up into my hair, while his free hand came up around my back. He pulled my body into his, wrapping me in his embrace.

His hand in my hair twitched slightly, as if he was fighting to remain in control, while his arm behind my back tightened.

I stood still, not reacting at first, not quite sure how I was supposed to. Should I hug him back, or remain still? I didn't know what he was looking for here from me. Finally, my arms made the decision for me as they slid up and around his back, returning his embrace.

He let out a deep breath I figured he must have been holding this whole time, and I realized that this embrace had been significant to him in a way I hadn't anticipated. He had been waiting for my reaction, waiting to see if I would reject or accept him.

He rested his chin on the top of my head, and we stood there like that, just silently wrapped in each other's arms, for a few minutes.

He finally broke the silence, asking me, in a shaky voice, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Ar_e you_ okay?" I asked, thinking of his fight with James and their encounter with the principal afterwards.

He pulled back from our embrace a little, his arms coming out from around me, moving up to my face. With both hands he cupped my face, lightly, and looked me in the eyes.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there after class for you and I'm sorry I didn't get to the cafeteria in time to stop James. I would give anything to go back and fix things for you. I'm sorry, I failed you," he said, sounded dejected.

My arms came out from around him, going up to where his hands still cupped my face. My hands wrapped lightly around his wrists, as I looked him in the eyes, determined to convince him he didn't need to feel bad about this.

"Edward, listen to me. This isn't your fault. It was probably destined to happen. You guys couldn't have spent twenty-four hours a day around, always protecting me. James and I would have had it out eventually, at least this way he's out of our lives quickly. This is _not_ your fault. I won't accept any of you taking any blame for what happened. Besides, I'm fine," I said.

"I should have been there for you," was all he answered.

"You _were_ there for me. Are you forgetting that you attacked James, pretty much beating him to a pulp? You were there when I needed you, Edward. You need to let this go. It's done and over with and James will be gone now. We can get on with our lives again. I think, all things considered, that it turned out all right," I said.

His eyes searched mine, looking for what, I didn't know.

He must have decided to let it be, though, and instead of arguing with me leaned in and gave me a light kiss on the corner of my mouth, the side not injured. It was over before it had begun, only lasting a second, but my heart stopped and my stomach did a little flip, in reaction.

I had to fight the urge to lean into him as he pulled away, to try to lengthen the kiss. I wanted to turn it into a real one, instead of just the light brushing of our lips that it was.

I resisted, letting him pull back, instead. I knew that we had a lot to talk about still, a lot to clear up and air out before we were ready for this. I was sure though that I was ready for this, ready for Edward. I wanted him, and was finally ready to admit it, both to myself and to him.

As he pulled back he smiled at me, saying, "Isabella Swan, you are an amazing woman."

"I'm just like anyone else, Edward," I answered awkwardly.

"No, you you're not. You, Bella, are an original. Trust me, I know," he said.

I shrugged, not willing to sit there and debate how original, or not, I was.

"Should we go inside? I think everyone's probably waiting for us," I said.

He shook his head, yes, and we turned to head up to the house. As we walked his hand reached out and grabbed mine, our fingers easily intertwining. I smiled a little, but refrained from commenting on it.

As we approached the door, however, he paused to ask me, "Are you okay with this?"

He held up our interlocked hands as he talked, indicating that that was what he was asking about. I was confused, thinking it was obvious that I was, otherwise I would have pulled my hand away.

My confusion must have showed on my face, because he clarified, saying, "If we go in there holding hands like this, my family will see it as a sort of declaration. They'll think we're more than just friends. That's something that I know I personally want - not them thinking we're more than just friends, I mean actually becoming more than just friends. I'll understand, though, if it's not something you want, or are ready for. If that's the case then we shouldn't go in there holding hands."

I thought it over, trying to decide what I wanted. Did I want this little declaration, before we even had the chance to talk? I wanted this path, but I wanted things cleared up first, at the same time. I knew that we still had things we needed to work through.

We sat there quietly, while I inwardly debated with myself. He waited patiently for me to make my decision, without pressuring me.

Finally, I decided that I wasn't going to over-think this, as I normally would. For once, I was going to go with what I wanted, as simple as that. Everything else could sort itself out later. We'd have all day tomorrow, just the two of us, to talk everything through. For now, I wanted to be happy for a little while and I knew that this would do that for me.

With that I reached over and grabbed the doorknob. I pushed the door in, and walked through, holding Edward's hand. It was time to declare myself to my friends. Time to let them know that I had an interest in their brother, and hope that they'd be okay with that.

As we walked into the house I said to Edward, my voice filled with the laughter that I was trying to contain, "Anyway, Alice has been watching us through the window this whole time."

There was a slight pause, while he digested that bit of information. Then we heard Alice's laughter as she skipped off through the house, safely away from Edward.

I could feel his hand tighten and knew that he was fighting the urge to run after, to extract revenge, I was guessing. In the end, he held tightly onto my hand, I deciding that payback wasn't worth letting go.

I smiled as we stepped into the living room to face his family, my friends, together. To most people, Edward and I holding hands wouldn't have been a big deal. I knew, though, that my friends would understand, would get that my world, our world, was changing.

I looked up, nervously, to gauge their reactions. I was a little worried that they would be upset at my interest in their brother. I had been their friend first, after all. I had no idea if this would be awkward for them or not.

All I saw on their faces, however, was acceptance. I could see that they were happy for me, happy for their brother, and that we'd have no resistance from them over this.

In that moment, despite everything I had been through that day, I felt so grateful. Somehow, I had managed to find these wonderful friends who accepted me for who I was, and who were able to be happy for me. I didn't know much about friendship in the high school world, but I was pretty sure that this was a rare thing.

The moment only lasted about three seconds though, which is how long it took Emmett to notice my face.

"Dude, Bells, are you okay?" he asked, concern obvious in his voice.

I sighed, knowing that this wasn't anywhere near the last time I would be asked this.

I answered, reassuring both him and Jasper that I was fine. With that, Edward and I walked in and sat down. We had a lot to go over, and as much as I wanted to enjoy my moment of happiness, I knew that this discussion needed to come first.

Besides, I knew that there would be plenty of time, later, to revel in my new found happiness. Today was just the beginning for us.

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**A/N:**

_So, I don't know, either you'll like it or you won't. I'm not quite sure whether I do or not, to be honest. It was a harder chapter for me to work through, I think because of how big of a break there was between my writing the last chapter and writing this chapter. Anyway, it is what it is. I would love to hear what you think though._

_All right, as usual, thank you to everyone who is reading this, and a big ole thanks to everyone reviewing! ;o)_


	32. Chapter 32

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**A/N:**

_So, this is just a little bonus chapter I wrote up real fast today, kind of to make up for my lack of updates. It's just something a little extra and doesn't really further the story, but I thought it would be fun to give some of the other characters a chance to be heard. If you're one of those people who aren't really interested in getting the other character's PoV, I made it so that you can skip this chapter, without missing out on any information that you'll need later. _

_Even if you're not planning on reading this chapter, skip to the end and read the A/N, I have kind of an announcement/question for you. No biggie, just something you'll be confused about if you miss the A/N. _

_Anyway, bonus chapter, blah, blah, blah. Have fun. _

_***************************************************  
_

**Esme**

As soon as I got home I went into my office to call Carlisle at the hospital. Because he worked so much, it wasn't uncommon for us to catch each other up on things via phone. I was put on hold while they paged him, only having to wait about a minute till he got on the line.

"Dr. Cullen," he said, into the phone.

"Hello, my love," I said.

Though we were never overly affectionate in front of others, in private we didn't hold back with each other.

"Esme, my sweet, how are you?" he asked.

"Perfect, now that I'm talking to you," I answered.

"You always say that, love," he quipped.

"And I always mean it," I returned.

This was what we did, how we started almost every phone call with each other. It was our way of slowing things down, so that we didn't rush into the details of life, without forgetting to let the other one know that we were interested in them and not just what was happening around us.

Despite the fact that we started almost every phone call this way, it still brought a smile to my face. I know it did Carlisle too, I could hear it in his voice.

"So how has your day been? How are the kids? Are they home from school yet?" he asked.

I could hear some rustling in the background and knew that he was checking his watch, trying to determine if school had let out or not.

Carlisle was usually so absorbed in his work that he often lost all track of the time. Certain nurses at the hospital knew to hunt him down and remind him that his shift had ended, otherwise he would just keep working through, not realizing that the time for him to head home had come and gone.

"The boys are home, but Alice and Rose went to Bella's house to get some of her clothes, she'll be spending the night here tonight. We've had an interesting day around here, to say the least," I answered.

"Really? What's happened?" he asked.

"What do you have time for? The long or short version?" I asked, conscious of the fact that he'd have patients waiting for him.

"I have a few minutes, it's kind of quiet at the moment," he said.

"All right, well I was called into school today because Edward had been involved in a fight," I started to explain.

"Edward? Really? With who?" he cut me off to ask.

"Yes, really. With James. I'm not even sure you could call it a fight actually. Edward didn't get a mark on him, while James look like he had tried wrestling with a bear," I said.

"I see," he said, before going on, "Well, no, I guess I don't. Maybe you better just explain the whole thing to me, from beginning to end,"

So, I did. I explained how James hitting Bella had caused the fight, how Emmett and Jasper had ended up in the front office with Edward, while Alice and Rose went with Bella to the nurse. I told him about my meeting with the principal, about Edward's punishment, my confrontation with Caius, and Charlie coming to the rescue of our son. I explained that I had invited Bella to spend the night, and Charlie to come to dinner.

When I was all done there was a moment or two of silence, while Carlisle digested everything I had just told him. I knew it was a lot to work through, especially in regards to Edward.

Finally, he finished processing everything, and asked, "Why was Edward the one to come to Bella's defense? He's probably the least closest to her out of all of our children."

I was surprised he hadn't figured out the answer to that, already. Out of all of our children, Carlisle was usually the most in tune with Edward, understanding his moods and motivations. Though, I knew, he loved all or our children equally, Edward was the one he fundamentally understood.

"I think he's in love with her, Carlisle," I answered.

"Oh. Ohhh. Of course. That would explain everything. Why he's been avoiding her, why he never mentions her name, his attack on James. I should have seen it earlier, but we never see them together, never see them interact with each other. Does he realize it? Do you think Bella returns his feelings?" he asked.

"Though he hasn't said anything to me, he has as good as admitted his feelings. I'm positive he has realized how he feels about her. As to whether or not Bella returns his feelings, I'm not sure. Like Edward, she seems to be good at hiding her emotions until she's ready to share. I think, one way or another, though, that we'll find out the answer to that today. I'm pretty sure that when Edward sees her again it'll set things in motion," I explained.

"You're probably right. Is there anything else I need to know about?" he asked.

I knew that he wanted to get back to work, to go check on his patients. We usually kept our conversations short, so that he wouldn't have to be off the hospital floor for too long. Explaining everything to him had taken a little while. I knew that he would be getting worried that they needed him.

"No, that's everything. Oh, wait, there is one more thing. Could you look at Bella's face when you come home tonight? She didn't want to come to the hospital, but I'd feel better if she got checked out. I'm sure she's fine, but James hit her pretty hard and I think it's better to err on the side of caution," I asked.

"Sure. Meantime, try to keep an eye on her, and call me if she seems to be in a lot of pain, or exhibiting any signs of dizziness, or tiredness," he said.

I agreed, then we said our goodbyes and hung up, after I reminded him again that Charlie would be coming to dinner.

I sat at my desk and thought about my son. I was happy that he had found someone he could care about. I'd seen a big difference in him these past couple of weeks and it had had me worried. He seemed to be suffering, and I had had no idea how help him through it.

It seems, though, that he had made his way through it. I had no idea where he and Bella stood as of right now, but I could tell he was no longer lost in depression.

Not for the first time, I felt thankful for Bella Swan. She had come into my children's lives and, one by one, helped heal them. Since she had moved here, the feeling in my house had changed.

For the most part we had been a happy household, but this past year there was an underlining feeling of sadness and betrayal that, no matter what I tried, I couldn't completely banish. My children had been rejected by their friends, and despite the fact that they had each other, and pretended that everything had been okay, I could tell that they still felt the pain of that rejection.

Bella's presence here, her unwavering loyalty to my children, was what had finally healed them. For that, I would be eternally grateful to her.

************************************************

**Jasper**

Emmett, Edward and I were the first ones back to the house. We all headed directly to the kitchen. Emmett started foraging for food, while Edward and I took a seat at the counter.

The car ride home had been almost completely silent. Em and I seemed to have an unspoken agreement to give Edward a little bit of time to work through everything he needed to, before we started in on questioning him.

I could see that Emmett had reached the end of his patience though, and he turned to give Edward a long look, deciding how to proceed.

Finally, he seemed to decide to just go for it, saying, "Dude, I can understand that you need some time to work through some shit, but you can't leave us hanging like this. You have to at least tell us whether or not you still go to school with us."

"I was given three days suspension, James was expelled," Edward answered.

We waited for a moment to see if he'd go into any more detail, but it became apparent that he had no intentions of doing so.

Emmett finally spoke up, hesitantly, saying, "Well, shit, that's good news, right? I mean, James is out of our hair now, and we don't have to deal with him anymore. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome, right?"

"I would rather have had to deal with James, than to see Bella get hurt," Edward spit out, clearly not over the day's events yet.

I knew I had to step in and try to calm Edward down. He was blaming all of us for this, himself included, and though I understood where he was coming from, it wasn't going to help anything.

"Edward, none of us wanted to see Bella hurt. In fact, we were all doing our best to make sure that very thing didn't happen. But, it's done. We can't change what happened. That doesn't mean that we can't be happy that this ended with James getting expelled, though. We'll all be safer for that, Bella especially," I said.

He ran his hands through his hair, something he did when he was frustrated or worried, and said, "I know. I get that, but I'm having a hard time getting the image of James hitting Bella out of my head. It doesn't seem to have the best effect on my mood."

"I think we're all having that problem right now. It'll help when Bella comes over and we can see for ourselves that she's okay. Just remember, Edward, that we all very much care about her," I explained.

"Seriously, bro. We all look at her like family. If any of us could change the way that this had played out, we would, but unfortunately we can't control time," Emmett

"I know, I'm sorry, Em. I'm just anxious to see her, to make sure she's all right," Edward returned.

It was good seeing him like this, seeing him care about someone so much.

I had watched this past year as Edward built a wall up around himself. Alice and I had talked about it often, trying to figure out ways to help him. Neither of us, though, had been able to come up with anything to help. It had been frustrating, to us both.

Since Bella came into the picture things had changed. At first I was worried it was for the worse. Edward seemed to spiral downward, instead of improve. Alice kept assuring me that things would work out in the end, that I needed to have faith. I should have just trusted her, she was usually right about these things, but I had been worried none-the-less.

It seemed like everything was working out though. Edward had finally admitted his feelings for Bella, and I was sure that Bella was close to doing the same.

I had seen the way she watched him. The way her eyes went to him whenever they were in the same room as each other, even if it was just across the cafeteria. There was a pull between them that neither one seemed able to fight.

I was happy for them both, now that it looked like they would find their happily ever after. Edward was my best friend, I loved him like a brother, and Bella was becoming a close friend. I knew she was like a sister to both Alice and Emmett, knew that she made us all happier. To see two people I cared about so much find happiness with each other, it was more than I had hoped for.

I reached over and lightly smacked Edward on the shoulder, then gave it a squeeze. He looked over at me, reading my face and my thoughts. I thought about how happy I was for him, letting him know that I was glad to see that he was finding his own form of happiness, like Emmett and I had already done.

He smiled lightly and nodded his head at me, letting me know that he had received my message. I grinned back and released his shoulder, then looked over at Emmett who was chowing down on a sandwich.

"What the hell was that about?" Emmett asked around a mouthful of food.

"For Christ's sake Emmett. Keep your mouth closed while you're eating. We don't need to see that," I complained to him, deciding to lighten the mood a little.

"You know you like it, bitch. You can admit it, you think it's sexy," he joked back.

We joked around like that, giving each other shit, until Esme got home. We tried to keep it clean around her, out of respect and, of course, to stay out of trouble. Then we just hung around until the girls got home, waiting to see what would happen next.

***********************************************

**Emmett**

We were in the living room when we heard Bella's truck pull up. Before I even had a chance to blink Edward was up and out of the house. I knew that he had been listening for the truck, waiting as patiently as he could for her to arrive.

A minute later, both Alice and Rose walked in the house.

"Hey, babe," I said, as I got up to give Rose a hug.

"Hey, Em," she said as she hugged me in return.

"How's Bells?" I asked.

"She looks like shit, Em. That little fucker must have really hit her hard. How's Edward been? Has he been losing it or what?" she asked.

"I think he was on the verge of it, but Jasper got him calmed down. Your brother has the magic touch, I keep saying," I answered.

"I know. He'll never admit to it though," she agreed.

Alice had greeted Jasper, then promptly disappeared again. I turned to him and asked, "Where'd the little pixie go?"

"She didn't say, but I'm guessing she went to spy on Edward and Bella," he answered.

"Alice, you have no shame!" I yelled, so she'd be able to hear me on the other side of the house.

"Neither do you Emmett! You're just jealous I thought of it first," she called out in return.

I laughed because it was true. I did wish I had thought of it first.

Rose, Jasper and I went back in and sat down again, chatting while we waited for Edward and Bella to come back in. Esme came in and checked on us, asking where Bella and Edward were. When we explained that they were still outside she shook her head and headed into the kitchen. I got the feeling that she had been expecting that answer.

Finally, the door opened and they walked in, apparently in the middle of conversation already, because I could hear Bella say, "Anyway, Alice was watching us through the window this whole time."

With that I could hear Alice's giggles, knowing she had been caught, then the sound of her as she skipped off through the house. I knew she was heading back into the living room with us, but had decided to take the long way in order to avoid Edward's reach.

Edward and Bella walked into the living room then, and the first thing I noticed was that they were holding hands. It was quiet for a few seconds as we all processed this, taking in what it meant. I was pretty sure that if I looked around, everyone would have smiles on their faces that matched my own.

I had been hoping for a while that they would end up together. Bella was already as good as family, and I knew that they would make each other happy.

Which was why I didn't notice her face right away, I was too busy thinking happy thoughts about the fact that they seemed to be moving on to the next level, as a couple. All of that came to a screeching hault, however, when my attention finally shifted to her face.

"Dude, Bells, are you okay?" I asked, freaked out by how purple her face had turned since I last saw her.

Good lord, I could see at least three completely different shades of purple on the left side of her face. James was lucky as hell he had been expelled, otherwise I would have fucking killed him. Or Edward would have. Or I would have, _then_ Edward would have, again.

I was glad that one of us had managed to beat the shit out of him but, looking at her face, I didn't think it had been enough, in terms of payback. Damn that bastard! I was tired of him hurting my family.

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**A/N:**

_Like I said, just a bonus chapter. It was fun for me to write and I knew it would be easy to get out. _

_Okay, on to the announcement/question....._

_I've decided to change the name of this story, unless I get overwhelmingly bad feedback about it. When I came up with Bella Begins I had no idea what I was writing about. I picked a kind of generic name based on Twilight and one of my favorite songs (Anna Begins by the Counting Crows. If you haven't heard it go listen to it, it's on youtube. It's one of my favs). Anyway, it has no bearing on the story, and I wanted to change it up to something that was actually relevant. SOOOOO, the next time you get an Chapter Update Notice in your box (if you're subscribed that is), it won't be for Bella Begins but for **His Salvation**, which is the new name. I'm willing to take your feedback into consideration on this though, so let me know what you think. Would you absolutely hate it if I changed it, or are you all right with it?_

_All right, next chapter will probably by up on Monday, because of the holiday tomorrow and all. It will be up by monday though, as I know you are all waiting for this one. Okily Dokily. Thanks all for reading and reviewing! Later!  
_


	33. Chapter 33

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

_Don't forget, this used to be Bella Begins! I changed the name to fit the story better lol._

_Okay, for the record, this was completed yesterday. Document Manager was down though and wouldn't let me upload it. So, yes it's late, but it's not my fault this time. _

_Now, on to the goods. This is the longest chapter yet. I probably would have split it into two separate ones, except that would have ended up making you wait for E & B's talk. Since you all have waited so patiently with me so far, I didn't want to do that to you. But expect a shorter one next update. I need a break from the longer ones._

_Anyway, as usual, thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing! You guys rock. :o)_

**Edward**

We hung out that evening, all of us, together. Jasper, Emmett and I brought the girls up to speed on what had happened at Principal Dent's office, while Bella told us about what had transpired between her and James. I think we were all somewhat shocked by how little it had taken for James to snap.

The whole time we were talking I was holding Bella's hand, not willing to let it go now that we had reached this point. I kept seeing Alice, even occasionally Emmett, looking over at us and smiling. I wanted to roll my eyes at them, but I let it go. I knew that they were just happy for us.

Charlie came over for dinner and I was forced to let go of Bella's hand. Esme was right, I would never take advantage of the situation, of Bella spending the night here, but I knew Charlie wouldn't have that kind of confidence in me. Plus, I doubted Bella would want to make any kind of announcement to him, without the two of us having talked first.

So I let go of her hand for dinner, but stayed close by her. I couldn't help myself, really. I had been fighting against this pull between us for so long now, fighting to stay away, that now that I no longer had to fight it, I was letting it engulf me.

I saw Charlie watching the two of us, watching our interactions, trying to figure out what was going on between us. Bella, however, was acting completely normal, which I knew was throwing him off.

I was surprised to realize that she had better control over her emotions than I did. I could usually read people easily, even without my little gift, but Bella was closed off to me in every way. She acted no different today than she did every other day. It was as if nothing had changed between us, at least while Charlie was around. I could feel the electricity between us though. I knew she felt it too, so I was content to let her play her role.

I knew the others were watching us, trying to understand the new dynamic we had going. Carlisle and Jasper in particular were paying close attention. I knew that Esme must have told Carlisle about what happened today, probably including her little chat with me. Carlisle would understand what that meant. I knew that he was just trying to adjust himself to this new development.

Dinner was nice. I'm sure it must have been a little bit strange for Bella, having her dad there with us. In truth, though, he fit right in with our family. It was clear that he loved Alice, and was comfortable with Jasper. He joked with Emmett, talking sports with him. He talked shop with Carlisle, while he and Esme talked about the charity she was involved with. I think he didn't quite know what to do with Rosalie, but Rose tended to give people she didn't know very well, a wide gap anyway, so they didn't interact much.

All in all, it felt like the perfect blending of two families. At one point during dinner, Alice looked over at me and raised her eyebrow, giving me a pointed look. I knew what she was thinking, it was like this had been fated to happen. I thought about her visions from that first day, and my instant pull to Bella. If I believed in things like fate, I knew that I would have had to agree with her. Everything about this just felt right.

After dinner, Charlie said his goodbyes, making Bella promise to call him in the morning and let him know how she was feeling, then left. Carlisle had looked Bella over earlier, assuring Charlie that she was fine and just needed a day or two to recover. Esme and Charlie conferred, deciding they would play it by ear on whether Bella would stay home for one day, or two.

Considering she would be spending another night here if she stayed home for a second day, I was secretly hoping that she stayed home. It was selfish on my part, but I didn't care. I wanted her to myself for a little while.

After Charlie left we all just hung around for a while. Rose, Em, Jaz and Alice all had homework they needed to work on. Carlisle called me into his study, wanting to have a talk, so Bella joined the others to work on her homework as well. She wouldn't be going to school tomorrow, but she said she didn't want to have to play catch-up tomorrow night either.

I followed Carlisle up to his study, shutting the door behind me. I knew he just wanted to make sure things were okay, to touch base with me, so I wasn't worried or anything.

"So, a fight with James, huh?" he asked, trying to get the ball rolling.

I answered as I took a seat, saying, "It was a long time coming. He went too far today though, I had to do it."

"But everything is okay now? Is there anything I need to worry about?" he asked.

"Everything is fine. He'll be gone now and we can all move on. That's all I care about at this point, I just want him out of our lives," I returned.

Carlisle sat back in his seat, bringing his hands up to the back of his head while he thought something over. I could tell he was trying to make a decision. I sat in silence for a few seconds, giving him time to work through things.

Finally he leaned forward again, looking me in the eyes, while asking, "Edward, is there something wrong with James? Something it might be better for me to know about?"

I was caught off guard. I hadn't expected him to focus on the James part of this conversation. I tried to shift through my thoughts, decide what the right course of action here was.

I was about to answer no, when I thought of Bella. She was involved in all of this now. I needed to make sure that I did everything within my power to keep her safe from James, even if that meant telling Carlisle about what had really happened last year. I didn't think James would cause us any more problems, but I thought it better to be safe.

"Remember last year, when he crashed my car and everything?" I asked.

Carlisle shook his head yes, but remained quiet, waiting for me to go on.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he did that because of what I saw, what I witnessed him doing a few days before that," I said.

"What did you see him do?" he asked.

"Beat his neighbor's dog to death with a baseball bat," I answered.

There was a long pause while he processed this. Finally, he asked, "Are you sure about this? You saw him actually do it?"

"Yes. The dog was in a bag, but after I knocked James away from it I opened the bag. I had seen the dog around and recognized it instantly," I explained.

"How did James react? What did he say? Did he seem agitated?" he asked.

"I thought he was going to attack me, but he got control over himself in time. Then he acted as though he had done nothing wrong, like it was normal to beat dogs to death. I turned and left shortly after that," I said.

Carlisle was quiet for a couple of minutes after that. I listened in to what he was thinking and knew he was trying to piece together what he knew of James, with what I had told him. I could feel his worry and knew that he shared the same suspicions about James that I did. I also knew he had come to the same conclusion as me. That without proof, there wasn't much we could do.

Finally he looked back over at me, saying, "All right. Tomorrow I'm going to talk to a colleague of mine, get her opinion on this. If she confirms what I'm thinking, I think I have to go to Caius Black, let him know what we suspect. I doubt he'll listen to me, but I feel it's my responsibility to try. James could be a danger to himself, and to others. We've seen some of his damage today, with Bella."

Though I knew it would be useless for him to go to James's dad, who's first priority was always appearances, I knew that, for his own sake, Carlisle had to at least try. I shook my head, answering his unspoken question, letting him know he had my permission.

He gave me a nod in return, then switched the subject, saying, "Right. Well, tell me about Bella then."

"You already know about her. You've met her a couple of times and I'm sure you've heard plenty from Alice, Emmett and Jasper about her," I said, knowing that's not what he was asking.

"Edward. Son. You know that's not what I meant. Do you have feelings for her?" he clarified.

I wasn't really ready for this conversation, but I knew that I owed him something. Besides the fact that he and Esme seemed to be letting me off free and clear over my fight today, I knew he was feeling left out of the loop. Carlisle and I had always been close, it had to bother him that he was the last to learn of my interest in Bella.

"Yes, I have feelings for Bella. Strong feelings," I finally admitted.

"I see. And does Bella return your feelings?" he asked.

"We're working on that part," I answered, not willing to say more, yet.

He waited to see if I would go on. When I didn't he said, "Well, your mother and I are really happy for you. Bella is a sweet girl, and I think she's a perfect choice for you."

"Thanks," I said. "Is it all right if I go back downstairs now? I want to see what everyone is up to."

"Sure, go ahead. I'll let you know tomorrow what my colleague said. And Edward? Thanks for taking me into your confidence," he returned.

I shook my head at him, then got up and headed downstairs to find the others. I knew everyone would be heading in their own directions in a little while, and I wanted to spend some time with Bella while I could.

We tended to split up before bed, heading to our own rooms and chilling out a bit. Often, Jaz would hang out in Alice's room, while Em hung out in Rose's room, but it wasn't uncommon for everyone to be in their own rooms. We spent a lot of time together as a unit, we needed some alone time as well.

I found them all hanging out in the game room. Rose and Bella were playing a game of foosball, which was kind of a family thing. We all liked to play, but Rose was arguably the best. She complained that the rest of us didn't even offer her any competition anymore.

When I walked in the room I could feel the charged atmosphere, and besides the sound of the ball moving through the pieces the room was quiet, everyone focused on the foosball table. Suddenly there was a thud, then they all erupted into cheers. I was still walking up to the table, so missed what had happened.

"What's going on?" I asked Jasper, the closest to me at the time.

"Bella just beat Rose at foosball," he said.

"You're kidding. Really?" I asked, looking over at Bella.

She was smiling, while Emmett gave her a big hug, before he went over and did the same to Rose. As I approached the table, she looked over at me, her smile getting even bigger, if that was possible.

"You play foosball?" I asked.

"No. That was my first game," she said.

I whistled, my eyebrows going up in surprise. I looked over at Rose to see her smiling, and I felt instant relief. Foosball was Rose's thing, I had thought being beaten by a novice would bother her. It looked like I was wrong though.

She caught me looking over at her, and asked, "What?""Surprised your not upset," I admitted, honestly.

"Why would I be? I finally have some competition. You lot are too easy to beat, now I'll be able to play Bella instead," she said.

I instantly felt bad for Bella, knowing how obsessed Rose was with foosball. Every time she came over here now, she would be forced to play.

I walked over to Bella, grabbing her hand. I probably shouldn't have just assumed that it was all right for me to do so again, but I missed feeling her touch and was willing to risk her annoyance with me over it. Luckily she didn't seem to mind, and closed her fingers around mine.

We sat there like that, enjoying the feel of the other's hands in our own, while we watched Alice and Jasper play a round of foosball. We were quiet, knowing that we'd have tomorrow together to talk about everything we still needed to.

When the game ended we all headed off to our rooms for the night, stopping to say goodnight to Esme and Carlisle. I walked with Bella up to Alice's room, where she would be sleeping tonight. Alice said goodnight to Jasper, then headed into her room, giving Bella and I a moment of privacy.

We turned to look at each other, releasing our hands. Mine went right up to Bella's face, to lightly cup her bruised cheek. I had to close my eyes to momentarily fight the rage I felt towards James for what he had done to her. It only lasted a second though, Bella's skin beneath my hand bringing me back to myself.

I leaned in, lightly kissing the corner of her mouth, before stepping back and away from her. My lips had only touched hers for half a second, but it left me fighting for control. I wanted so much more. I wanted to nibble on her lips, to find out what how her mouth tasted like, to feel her breath mixed with my own. I knew, though, that now wasn't the time or place.

"Tomorrow," I promised, not really sure which of us I was promising; her that we would talk tomorrow, or myself that I would be able to continue on with this. I quickly turned and headed up to my own room, while I still had the will power to do so.

***********************************************

**Bella**

He gave me a light kiss, then headed quickly away. I watched as he walked to the end of the hallway, then turned to climb up the stairs leading to his room, without looking back at me once. I took a deep breath, to steady myself, before I headed into Alice's room for the night.

As soon as I was through the door, she was asking, "So, what are the chances that you'll tell me all about what's happening between you and my brother, if I were to ask?"

I pretended to think it over for a few seconds, before finally answering, "I'd have to say that it's not going to happen."

"Aww, come on Bella! You're my best friend, Edward's my brother, I totally should have the inside scoop on this," she whined.

I laughed at her, not even bothering to respond. I went over and grabbed my bag, then headed into her bathroom to get ready for bed. I knew I was kidding myself though, if I thought that had been the end of the discussion.

Sure enough, as soon as I finished in the bathroom, Alice started back in, asking, "Can you at least tell me how you feel about him?"

"Sure. As soon as I figure it out myself, Alice," I answered.

"Bella Swan. You are the most frustrating best friend, ever," she said, pretending to be annoyed.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and Alice called out, "Come in, Rose."

The door swung in and sure enough, it was Rose standing there. She took a step in, closing the door behind her.

She looked at Alice, asking, "Well?"

"No go. She's not spilling," Alice answered, as she flopped back on the bed.

"I told you she wouldn't," Rose said.

"A girl can hope," Alice said, not even bothering to lift her head up off the pillow.

I laughed quietly at her dejected pose, but wasn't giving in. I knew Alice's tricks already. She wasn't going to win this one.

"All right, well, I just wanted to say goodnight. Bella, are you sleeping in tomorrow, or getting up with the rest of us?" Rose asked.

"I'll probably get up when everyone else does. I'm a pretty light sleeper, I doubt I'd be able to sleep through everyone getting ready," I answered.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning then. I hope you feel better by then. Night guys," she said, as she opened the door to head out.

"Thanks Rose, I'm sure I will. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Have a nice night," I answered.

"Night," Alice called out to Rose's retreating back.

I closed the door behind her, then turned back to Alice, still flopped out on her bed.

"Alice, really, I don't know what's going on now. I need time to sort things out, to talk to Edward. Right now you know about as much as I do," I said, hoping to pacify her some.

She sat up and looked at me, saying, "All right, I'll try to have patience. I'm just excited for you guys, and don't want to be left in the dark."

"You said it yourself, Alice. You're my best friend, and Edward's sister, I doubt you'll be left in the dark," I explained.

"Thanks, Bella," she said.

With that, we settled in, getting ready for sleep. I still had a bit of a headache and was feeling sore, so I was looking forward to sleep. It didn't take me long to drift off. Not even thinking about Edward, was enough to keep me awake.

***

**Bella (cont.)**

I woke up the next morning to find Alice already up and ready. I was surprised that I hadn't woken up while she was in the shower. She got me towels and everything I'd need for my shower, then told me she'd meet me downstairs when I was done.

I headed into the bathroom, stopping at the mirror to see how my face looked. It was both better and worse, at the same time. The bruising had gotten darker but the swelling had gone down. My lip was still cracked, but now that the swelling was gone it wasn't nearly as bad, in fact, it didn't even really hurt.

I knew it would be a while yet before I was back to normal, but I was happy that the swelling had gone down at least. I wasn't looking forward to my return to school tomorrow, where I was sure everyone would be staring at me.

I hopped into the shower, then got ready and headed downstairs. Alice was an early riser and there was still quite a bit of time before the others had to head to school. I knew that the Cullen's were big on breakfast, so had been expecting their early rise.

As I reached the foot of the steps I heard someone playing the piano in the music room, and knew it had to be Edward. I headed over to the double doors that separated the music room from the rest of the house, debating whether or not I should disturb him.

While I was trying to make up my mind Jasper came down the stairs behind me. When he reached the bottom and saw me standing there he hesitated, then smiled at me.

"You can go in, Bella, he won't mind. He just closes the doors in the morning to try to keep from disturbing everyone else with his playing," he said.

With that he headed off to find Alice. I looked back at the doors, then decided to just go for it. I grabbed the doorknob and swung the door in, stepping into the room before I had a chance to change my mind.

He was sitting at the piano, totally engrossed in the song he was playing. I shut the door behind me, then stood still to listen to his playing.

It was a song I didn't recognize. As I listened, I found myself wondering if it was something he himself had written. There was just something about it that reminded me of him, somehow. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the song just seemed to be a part of him.

I waited quietly while he played, enjoying both the music and the chance to watch him play. The last time I was in this room with him, listening to him play, was the day he pretty much told me to get lost. Remembering it, I determined that that was one of the questions I wanted to get an answer for today.

Just then the song ended and Edward looked up at me, smiling.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," I returned. "That was a beautiful song. Is it your own?"

"How did you know?" he asked, surprise showing on his face.

"I'm not exactly sure. It just, sort of, sounds like you somehow," I explained.

"You're the first person to ever think so, as far as I know," he said.

I kind of shrugged, not knowing what else to say. He stood up and walked over to me, reaching out for my hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better. My face still hurts a little, but my headache is gone, and that was what was bothering me the most," I answered.

He reached up, running the back of his hand down the side of my face, lightly. He had done this several times in the past day. It was almost as though he was trying to get a read on my pain.

"It looks like all the swelling has gone down, though the bruising will probably take a lot longer," he said.

I shook my head in silent agreement.

"Come on," he said, "let's go in to breakfast."

With that we opened the door and headed out to join the rest of his family.

Breakfast with the Cullen's was a fun affair. There was a huge amount of food. I finally understood why Alice had scoffed at my breakfast of cereal when she had spent the night at my house.

Everyone joked with each other, teasing and playing. It was wonderful to witness, though it made me feel like I had been missing out, being an only child.

Emmett, surprisingly, was the one to pick up on how I was feeling, saying, "It's all right Bells, you're part of this family now."

Edward looked over at me with a slightly confused expression, as he tried to read my expression. I smiled at him in return, before turning back to Emmett.

"Thanks, Em," was all I said.

When we were all done eating we helped clean up, washing dishes and putting things away. Then it was time for the others to head off to school. By default, Rose was driving, since Edward was home for the next few days. I could see a slightly panicked expression on everyone's face, but no one had the nerve to comment.

We all said our goodbyes, then they headed out. The instant quiet in the house was a bit of a shock and I found myself wondering how Esme dealt with it every morning.

Just then she turned to Edward and I, saying, "I'll be around all day, like I promised Charlie, but I have some things I need to work on. I'll be in my office most of the day. Bella, will you promise me you'll let me know if you need me for anything? If you're feeling bad or anything?"

I promised her I would, thanking her in the process. She reminded me to call Charlie, then headed off to her office. Edward grabbed the phone for me.

Charlie was heading out on a call, so we only talked for a minute. I let him know that I was feeling better, that Esme would be home all day, and that I would call him later in the afternoon to check in again. With that we hung up.

I turned to look at Edward, wondering if he had a plan for the day.

"Want to walk to the rock?" he asked.

"Sure, let's go," I answered.

We headed out the door, towards the stream. It was a cloudy day, as usual, but not raining yet. I thought it probably would later though.

When we got to the rock, we both climbed up, looking around as we did. It really was a beautiful spot, covered in a canopy of trees, with the stream flowing close by. I could see why this was his spot, his place to come to think.

I sat down on the rock, with Edward doing the same. We were facing each other, with about two feet between us.

"Where do you want to start?" Edward asked.

I knew exactly what he meant, without having to ask. I though things over quietly, before finally answering. "The beginning, that first day. I need to know what happened, why you reacted the way you did," I said.

He winced as he remembered back to the day we first met, but didn't hesitate before answering, saying, "I was reacting in fear. I was afraid of you."

"You were afraid of me? Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"I was miserable here, even despite having my family around. The day before you and I met I had actually made up my mind that the minute I graduated I was leaving town. Then, I saw you in the cafeteria that day and it was this instant, almost overwhelming pull. It was so strong it was almost physical. I just sort of panicked. I think I knew, deep down, that I wouldn't be able to fight it, but I had to try," he said, while he looked intently at me, trying to gauge my reactions.

"When you showed up at my house, later," he continued, "I was caught off guard. I had been trying to forget about you, about the pull I felt towards you. I was sitting at the piano, using my music to try to keep you out of my mind. When I opened my eyes, there you were, standing in front of me, surrounded by my family. It was like the universe was laughing at me, telling me that fighting would be useless. I stood up and fled before I had even thought about what I was doing."

"When you followed me out here to this rock, I knew I was in trouble. Obviously, I wasn't going to be able to just avoid you and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to fight against this pull I'd been feeling. That was when I came up with my plan. If I wouldn't be able to stay away from you, I'd make it so that you would want to stay away from me. If you hated me, I wouldn't have to worry about not being strong enough to resist. That's why I said the horrible things to you that I did, that day. I was trying to make you hate me, so that you'd run away from me, instead. It was idiotic and cowardly, but I wasn't thinking straight," he finished.

I digested this. Tried to match up his explanation to his behavior that day. I could see it, could see that he had felt the same pull towards me that I had felt towards him. I could even see that he had tried fighting it. His reactions in Biology, his introduction at the last second, as I was walking away, almost as if he hadn't been able to stop himself.

In a way, I could even understand the fear that had motivated his actions. I knew from Alice that he had gone through a lot, suffered a lot because of the his family's relationships with each other. I could see how he would try to resist anyone new in his life because of the hurt from that, and could imagine how much scarier it would have been with someone like me, who he felt such a strong pull towards.

Once hurt, it was easy to close ourselves off, to build a wall around ourselves, to try to protect us. Rose had one up when I first met her, it made sense that Edward would too.

Finally, I broke the silence that had grown, asking, "When did things change for you? And why?"

"It had been happening slowly," he said. "Seeing my family around you all the time, enjoying your friendship, it was painful for me. I wanted to be there, I wanted to be the one making you laugh, or comforting you when you missed your home, or your mom, too much. I was jealous of them for having what I wanted more than anything else. I started resenting them, avoiding being around them when we were all home together. I'm surprised they put up with me for as long as they did, but they seemed to sense that I needed to work through this on my own."

"Finally, Rose, the only other one trying to resist you, came into my room one day, to tell me that she wasn't going to avoid you anymore. She had only done so for as long as she did as a kind of loyalty towards me. Then she told me to get my shit together, and left. I knew that she was right, I knew that I was fighting a losing battle," he said, pausing as he remembered everything that had happened.

Finally he continued, saying, "The next day James showed up. When I saw him sitting there with you, at lunch, I lost my mind. I wanted to kill him, just for sitting at the same table as you. If Emmett hadn't been there to hold me back, I don't know what would have happened. The worst part was, I knew he saw my reaction, knew he understood what it had to mean. I had screwed up, giving him a weapon to use against me, getting you involved in something you neither deserved to be a part of, nor understood."

"I tried to warn you to stay away from him, but it came out all wrong. I was so out of my mind with fear that I couldn't seem to explain myself in a way that would make you understand, without thinking I was just being an ass again," he said.

I remembered that conversation in Biology. Remembered how mad his words had made me. I knew now, that he was looking out for me, but at the time I just thought he was being a jerk.

"After Biology, I cut out for the day too agitated to go to my last class. I went and found Alice first, bringing her with me. We went and hung out in the car and talked. I told her everything about James and she promised to talk to you. I knew then that I couldn't deny it any longer, that I had been an idiot for even trying to," he said.

"Deny what?" I asked.

"My feelings for you. I'd fallen in love with you, probably had that first day in fact. And in that moment, I hated myself, knowing that my idiocy could have potentially cost me the one thing that was more important to me than anything else. You. I knew I would never be able to forgive myself if I had screwed things up beyond repair. I determined to try to undo what I had so successfully done. To get you to forgive me and stop hating me. I knew it was the only way I'd ever find happiness," he finished.

I had sucked in my breath, in surprise, when he said he loved me. I hadn't been expecting it, hadn't realized he felt so strongly about me. I knew, obviously, that his feelings about me had changed, but never guessed that it was to this extent.

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't ready to say it in return, I knew that. This was all too new for me and I wasn't sure how I felt yet. I knew I needed more time and I felt bad that I did. I felt guilty for not being able to tell him I returned his feelings.

He must have been able to tell what I was thinking because he said, "Bella, I wasn't expecting you to have the same feelings for me. I've had more time to come to terms with everything. I know that this is all new for you. Don't feel rushed, or like I'm putting any kind of pressure on you. That's not what this is about. I just want to be completely honest with you, so that you understand everything. Right now, I'm just happy that you're giving me a second chance. I was afraid you would never forgive me for how I acted."

I was grateful to him for his honesty. I understood a lot of his behavior now, and I had forgiven him. His actions of the past few days had earned him my forgiveness. I felt like I owed him the same honesty that he had just given me, so I tried to explain how I was feeling, working through some of my feelings as I spoke.

"If you had asked me about it a couple of days ago, I probably would have told you that there was no way you'd ever be able to earn my forgiveness, or trust. Your actions the past few days, though, have changed that. I've definitely forgiven what happened, probably even before you explained your reasons behind your behavior. You've also earned my trust. I would say that I trust you, now, as much as I do Alice or Emmett," I explained.

"But you're right, this is all new to me still and I'm not really sure how I feel yet. I know that I like you, that I think about you a lot, probably more than I think about anyone else, more than I should. Even when I hated you, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I know that I want to see where this, where we, end up," I explained.

"So, then, that's what we'll do. We'll see where we end up. We can take things as slow as you want, I'm willing to go at the pace you set," he answered.

As he spoke he slid towards me, reaching out and taking my hand in his. I had a feeling he had been trying to avoid physical contact with me, while he explained everything. I was glad he had, knowing that it would have distracted me from our conversation.

"So, where does this leave us now?" I asked, curiously.

"Well, I'm hoping you'll consider being my girlfriend. If you're not ready for that, it's fine, but I wanted you to know that, for now, that's my immediate goal," he answered.

I thought about it, before answering, honestly, saying, "No, I would like that. I would like being your girlfriend."

The smile that lit up his face took my breath away. I momentarily wondered how I had managed to catch this man's attention. What, about me, could have possibly held his interest?

I knew, though, beyond a doubt, that something about me had. I'd heard the sincerity in his words, felt the truth behind them and knew in the way that he watched me that his feelings were true.

My breathing sped up a little, as the excitement of the moment caught up to me. I saw Edward pick up on the change, saw it overcome him as it had me. The air around us was filled with electricity, his smile faded away as the pulse between us overwhelmed him.

"Isabella," he said, his voice husky with the desire I knew we both felt.

"Edward?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from wavering as I answered.

He leaned in as he answered, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to fight this. You're going to have to be the one who stops this, if you're not ready."

He paused, just an inch from my face, giving me the chance to pull away if I needed to.

Instead, my hand came up to his neck, sliding up it until it had just touched the point where his hair began. It had been a slow, torturous, movement, and we both had remained motionless otherwise. When my hand found the spot at the back of his neck that it was apparently looking for, it stroked his skin, seductively. I found myself wondering when my hand had gotten a mind of it's own, because I knew I definitely didn't have the guts to do something like this on my own.

I heard Edward let out a little growl then, and I almost giggled at him, but, instead, found myself too distracted by the feel of his lips on mine. He had closed the gap between us, his lips pressing firmly against my own, his hands wrapping themselves in my hair.

It felt like he was going to devour me, his mouth worked on mine as he coaxed my lips open. When my mouth finally gave him what he wanted, and my lips opened, I felt his tongue slide into my mouth, seductively stroking my own.

I kissed him back, giving in to my needs of the moment, knowing that we had already lost control of the situation. I let my tongue meet his, marveling at the way it felt when it touched his, not understanding before this how wonderful a tongue could feel.

As he nibbled lightly on my lips, careful not to hurt me, I gasped at the urgency I felt, the need to be closer to him. I slid my body across the rock, arching towards him in my need to feel his skin against my own.

When our bodies touched Edward pulled back from the kiss, using his hands on my hair to angle my head back a little. Before I could protest his pulling away, his lips had found my neck. My body heated up as his mouth slid along my neck. His tongue worked his way up my skin, leaving a path of fire behind it. I wondered if I'd survive any more, wondered if anyone had ever died from being kissed, before.

My hands threaded up through his hair, gripping as they went. I tugged his face back to mine, needing to feel his mouth against mine again. I knew that nothing could be better than this moment, right now.

Instinctively, I lightly bit his lower lip, sucking on it as I did so. I heard a moan escape Edward's mouth, felt his body shiver in reaction. I laughed lightly, against his lips, knowing that I had caused this reaction from him, that I was responsible for the passion coming from him.

I didn't know how long we had been at it, how long we allowed ourselves to get lost in each other. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours. I had lost track of time completely, absorbed in all of these new feelings.

My hands released his hair, going to his back, pulling him closer to me. As I released his lip I felt his tongue slide past my lips again, and opened them, giving him access. As I sucked lightly on his tongue, I felt his intake of breath. His arms came up to my shoulders, grabbing me lightly, pushing us apart.

I looked at his face, confused as to why he would pull away. His expression was clouded and I knew he was fighting for control. I slid back, away a little, giving us both some space.

We sat there like that, our breathing the only sounds between us. I knew that neither one of us had been expecting such an intense reaction. Despite the almost constant pull I felt to him, I had never imagined such an overwhelming physical reaction.

After a few minutes, Edward looked to have regained control, and he said, "I'm so sorry, Bella. I had only meant to give you a small kiss. If I had known it would lead to that…"

He paused, considering, before going on. "Well, I'd probably have done it anyway, but I still feel the need to apologize."

"Don't. I was as much a part of it as you were. I could have pulled away, could have told you I wasn't ready, but I wanted to see what would happen," I answered.

"It was certainly interesting," he said. "We're going to have to be careful. I want to take things slow between us, and I have to admit, that will be harder now that I know."

"Now that you know what?" I asked.

"How good you feel. How wonderful you taste. How right this is," he answered.

I had to admit, if I had been the type to swoon, I probably would have done so at his answer.

"Edward Cullen," I said, trying to get a hold on my emotions. "Stop trying to dazzle me."

"Dazzle you, huh?" he asked, his mouth spreading in a smile, teasing me.

He leaned in, close, his smile turning wicked. I backed away, wary, not trusting his attempt at being good.

"Tell me, Minx," he teased, "Do you want to be dazzled?"

"Oh yes," I answered truthfully. "If you're the one doing the dazzling, then yes."

He launched himself at me, grabbing me in his arms and then rolling so that when we landed against the rock, he was underneath.

"Good," he answered. "I'm not sure how I'd react, knowing you walked around letting any old guy dazzle you."

I laughed, rolling my eyes at him. Remembering what he said, I asked, "Minx, huh?"

"I like it," he answered. "It seems to fit you."

"Edward, I doubt anyone would agree with you," I said.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks. I think it fits you, that's all that matters," he returned.

I smiled, letting it go. In truth, I liked that he had made up a little nickname for me. It was sweet.

We laid there like that for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of each other, before Edward finally sat up.

"Come on, Minx. It's about lunch time and Esme will be looking for us," he said.

I smiled as he helped me up. We climbed down off of the rock together and headed into the house.

Just before it was out of view, I turned to look back at the rock, thinking about how many important moments seemed to happen there, for me. It may have been Edward's rock, but it was certainly beginning to feel like my own.

I turned back to Edward as we walked. It was strange, knowing that I had a boyfriend now. I was used to being a loner. Now, I had close friends who felt more like family, and a boyfriend who I couldn't seem to stop smiling around.

I had been dreading my move to Forks, thinking I would hate it here. Now, though, I knew it was the very thing I had needed. This place, these people, they had brought me to life again. The worst part was, I hadn't even been aware that I was fading away, before I had met them.

I looked down at my hand in Edward's and couldn't help the feeling of anticipation that overcame me. I didn't know what the future held for me, but I did know that for once, I couldn't wait to see what it brought.

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**A/N:**

_Yeah, super long one this time, at least for me. I think, along with the Emmett chappie, that this is one of my favs. Let me know what you think. _

_Anyway, had someone ask me a couple of questions that I thought I'd get to here. _

**Q. **(missie33) So "His Salvation" Huh? Does that mean we still have awhile to go before it ends? and have you considered a sequel yet?

**A. **_I'm not sure how long we have till the end. I had thought that I'd be at the end by chapter 35, but now I'm sure that that's not going to happen. We're on the last story-line, and I know how it's going to play out, but I'm playing each chapter by ear. We're definitely coming up on the end though. _

_As to a sequel, I had said earlier to a friend that I couldn't imagine myself writing one for this story. Mainly because I have other projects I have put off for so long so that I could finish this one. But also, because I was sure I would need a break from this after it's done. Having said that, however, I've recently come up with a potential plot that could work really well for a sequel, and not feel like I'm writing it just because I'm not willing to walk away from this. Soooooo. We'll see. It's a possibility, that's all I'll commit to at this point. ;o)  
_


	34. Chapter 34

**Twilight and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

_Okay, haha, I'm back. What happened to me, you ask? Well a couple of things. First, I had some family come to visit for a while, meaning I didn't have time to write. Then, when I finally did have time again, my power cord broke on my computer. So, replaced the cord, then my space bar key broke off, along with the little rubber button underneath it (I have a laptop). Unfortunately, that's still not fixed. I'm going to have to get a new keyboard for my computer, annoyingly. In the meantime, while writing is possible, it's also a huge pain in the ass. So, I've been working on this chapter, but slowly. I can only do a little bit at a time, before I lose patience. I'm not a patient person anyway, and this stupid space bar key has me at the end of mine. On top of it all, I ended up with writer's block the past few days lol. Sooooo, sorry this has taken SO long! Updates will probably be slower for a little while, until I get a new keyboard, but not as long as it's taken me to get this one done._

_As usual, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews. Especially thank you all for waiting patiently, hopefully I didn't lose too many readers because of it. A big thank you to_ 6abby, TeamEdward-ftw., princessatessa08, _and I think there's one other person I'm forgetting, who all stopped in to check up on the state of this story, it helps me get motivated. Sorry to the one person I think I may be forgetting, if it's you feel free to yell at me in the review section and I'll give you a shout-out next chapter. ;o)_

_This chapter is kind of, sort of, filler. It had been so long since I've written anything for this story, that I needed something to help me slide back in. This chapter was the result. It's not completely filler though, because it's relevant and it covers a few things that I've been wanting to get out there for a while, but haven't found anyplace they fit...it just feels like filler to me. _

_Anyway, again, thanks everyone! Hope you enjoy, sorry again about the ridiculously long wait! I haven't given up on this story, promise! Oh, tune in at the end for a couple of points of interest and an announcement. ;o)  
_

_*************************************************  
_

**Edward**

That kiss…I knew that kiss was going to be the death of me. Even now, I couldn't get it out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. And I was trying very_, very_,hard. I kept attempting to distract myself, thinking up lists in my head - top five songs about death, top five baseball players of all time, top five worst movies I'd ever seen - things like that, to keep my mind off the kiss. It wasn't helping.

All day long it haunted me. I would get to this point where I was almost not obsessing over it, then I would look over at Bella and the memories would flash in my head. Her touch, her taste, her smell - it was overwhelming me. I felt like I was some kind of addict, looking for my fix. It was almost as if Bella was my brand of heroin, totally irresistible to me.

The worst part was, it was only a first kiss! First kisses were supposed to be awkward and uncomfortable, maybe sweet, and, if you were lucky, a little sexy. They were not supposed to be these overly passionate, take-your-breath-away affairs. That was just all kinds of unfair.

So I spent the day suffering and dreaming up ways I could steal Bella off for a while, without anyone noticing. I wasn't kidding myself though, I knew we were being watched like hawks.

Once we had gone inside, I knew right away that Esme could tell that there had been some kind of change between us. She had lunch ready for us and as soon as she turned to look at us the expression on her face changed. I could see shock and confusion as she stared at us…and stared, andstared. I looked at Bella, who was curiously watching Esme, and realized that we had forgotten to straighten ourselves out again, after the kiss.

Bella's lips were swollen and red, her already large eyes were now huge, and her hair was completely wild, making it look like she had just climbed out of bed. Though I thought it made her look sexy as hell, looking at her, there was also no question about how we had spent our time, outside, entertaining ourselves. Well, maybe about how far we had taken it.

Esme gawked at me, the shock on her face evident. I knew that she was scrutinizing me, my appearance, and I had a feeling that I didn't look any better than Bella did. When I met Esme's gaze, I shook my head a little, trying to signify to her that it wasn't as bad as it appeared.

She stared me down for a minute, her eyes narrowing at me, before her face finally cleared. I knew then that she had decided that she trusted me. I was sure that she had decided that I hadn't gone too far, hadn't taken advantage of the situation.

If she only knew.

It had come so close. I had almost lost complete control, and I knew it. I doubted that Bella would have been able to stop us, if we had kept going, and I was certain that I wouldn't have been able to.

It had taken me totally off guard, that kiss. I hadn't meant to lean into her at all, but before I knew it my body had taken over completely, and I was going in for the kiss. I had forgotten all about the pull between us, the electricity that surged around us whenever we were near each other, and what that would mean for my self-control.

When our lips touched, it was like someone had lit a fire under me. I knew that I was in trouble, but couldn't seem to pull away. Instead I felt myself deepening the kiss, coaxing her to open her mouth for me, allowing me to finally taste her.

I had fantasized about it more times than I cared to admit, wondering how her mouth would taste, if I had only been allowed to try it. I had dreamed about it, had fixated on it during my waking hours. Wondering what she would taste like had become my obsession, even while I was fighting to stay away from her.

When she let me move in for the kiss, when her hand made it's way up my neck, lightly stroking me, I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to stop myself from taking advantage of the situation. And so, I had finally learned what Bella Swan tasted like.

She was absolute perfection.

I knew that, from then on, we would have to be careful when we allowed ourselves to become physical with each other. I had lost control so quickly, so easily, that it almost frightened me. If that was what happened with our first kiss, how much would I have to fight for control as our relationship progressed? I had vowed to take it slow with Bella, to give her the time she would need. I knew, now, that each kiss we shared would be a test of that vow.

As we sat down to lunch with Esme, I realized that Bella and I would have to learn how to be a couple in front of others. It would be easier around Alice, Emmett, Rose and Jasper, who knew our history, who shared some of our story with us. It helped, too, that I knew they were all rooting for us to get together.

I knew it would be harder, or at least more awkward, around others though. I had been fighting my feelings for Bella for so long, trying to keep everyone around me from sensing them, that I wasn't sure how to act now that I was allowed to be open with them. As I looked over at Bella, sitting next to me at the table, I knew she had to be feeling the same awkwardness. We'd done a complete one-eighty in just one day, and I was sure it had left us both a little confused.

I knew, though, that Esme would be good practice for us, a good way to come out in the open, especially as she'd already picked up on some of what had happened between us. I eyed Bella trying to anticipate how she would react to me 'outing' us, and decided that it was going to happen sooner or later, anyway, I didn't see the harm in getting it over with.

Esme had lunch on the table for us all, grilled chicken ceaser salad, and as she dished some out I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"So, uh, Esme," I said, then stopped, not sure how to finish my sentence.

I looked up to see her staring at me, waiting for me to finish my thought. I panicked a little, trying to figure out the least most embarrassing way to make my little announcement. By this time Bella was staring at me, also, with a look of curiosity on her face. The two of them were watching me expectantly, and my brain just froze. I had kind of hoped that Bella would pick up my slack, but I realized she had no idea that I was trying to tell Esme about our relationship.

Finally, I groaned and dropped my head in my hands. By now the silence had stretched out to the point where I knew that there was just no way for me to get out of this without looking like an idiot.

"What's up, Edward?" Esme asked, taking pity on me and breaking the silence.

I looked up at her, then turned to stare at Bella as I finally answered, "I just, I wanted to let you know that Bella and I are going out now. She's my girlfriend."

There. That wasn't so bad. Simple and to the point. Don't know why I couldn't have just said that in the first place. In my defense, though, it was the first time I had ever acknowledged a girlfriend to one of my parents, so it was a bit awkward for me. I wasn't used to sharing things like that.

I hadn't really been known for my relationships in the past. I'd dated, but had never really been involved in a relationship. In truth, I had preferred it that way. Until Bella moved to town, none of the girls at Fork High had really interested me. I'd gone to the occasional movie with one, here and there, but nothing beyond that.

So, I never bothered to introduce any of them to my parents. Had never bothered mentioning a girlfriend, or anyone I was interested in. I was kind of private when it came to my personal life anyway, and hadn't thought the few girls I had been out with once or twice were worth mentioning.

Bella was different though, and I was different with her. I was in love, I was starting out in this new relationship, and for the first time, I wanted my family to know about it. I wanted to be open in front of them, wanted to be able to hug Bella in front of them, to touch her, instead of just hovering by her, allowed to look but not touch. By telling everyone that Bella was my girlfriend, I knew that we wouldn't have to hold back, or try to hide our feelings for each other in front of them.

As I spoke I saw Bella's eyes widen in surprise. I knew she hadn't been expecting me to announce us so quickly, but then I saw the corners of her mouth tug up in a little smile. I wasn't sure if she found me, or my announcement, amusing, but I could see that she was trying to keep from laughing.

I smiled back at her, then looked over at Esme to gauge her reaction. She was looking between Bella and I, watching our silent interaction. Finally, she smiled at us.

"I'm happy for you both. Edward, I'm so glad you had the sense to ask Bella out. Your father and I were both kind of hoping the two of you would end up together. Bella, hun, Carlisle and I already consider you a part of this family, it's just an added bonus that you and Edward are dating," she said, with a big grin on her face.

Bella blushed, embarrassed by Esme's praise. Still, I could see that Esme's easy acceptance of her had meant a lot to Bella. I was glad my family already cared so much for her, it would just make this transition all the easier-for all of us.

Esme finished dishing out lunch and the three of us began to eat. Esme looked over at Bella, asking, "How are you feeling, Bella? Somewhat better?"

Bella swallowed the bite she was chewing before answering, "I'm a lot better, thanks. My headache is completely gone now, and that's what was really bothering me. My face still hurts a little bit, but even that is starting to feel better now."

"Well, that's good. It'll probably take a good couple of days for the bruising to go away, though. Edward and I would be happy to have you spend the day with us again, tomorrow, if you wanted to stay home from school again. That way you'd have tomorrow and then the weekend for the bruising to go down some. It would probably still be bruised a little come Monday, but not enough that everyone would be staring at you," Esme said.

"Thanks, Esme. It would be nice to not have to go back tomorrow, for sure. The bruising is still so dark at this point that I just know everyone will be talking and staring at me all day. I mean, they'll be talking about me anyway when I go back, that can't be helped, but it would help if I didn't look like such a freak. It's up to Charlie though, I'm not sure how he'd feel about me staying home another day, when I'm feeling better," Bella explained.

Before Esme could respond, I cut in, saying, "Bella, you don't look like a freak, even with the bruising. So, don't say that. You look perfect."

She didn't bother responding, she just rolled her eyes at me. She ended with a little smile for me though, which I knew was meant to convey her thanks.

Esme spoke up, saying, "I agree with Edward, Bella. You don't at all look like a freak. And, if you want, I'd be happy to talk to Charlie for you, to try to convince him to let you stay home another day. Call him this afternoon, let him know we'd love to have him over again for dinner, and we can talk about it then."

"Thanks, I will. I think it's good for him getting out of the house anyway. He only has a couple of friends, so I think it's nice for him to come here for dinner. He seemed to really have a good time last night," Bella answered.

"Good, that's settled then," Esme said. She hesitated for a heartbeat before going on, saying, "I wanted to apologize for James hitting you. I know that he's not my son, and I'm in no way responsible for him, but I also know that neither he nor his dad will apologize. He used to be like family to us, so in a way I do feel a little responsible, even if I know that's not true."

She went on, explaining, "He's always had some anger issues, but for the most part he's been in control of them. At least, until the past couple of years, anyway. Then he seemed to have spiraled out of control. I would almost feel sorry for him, except that he doesn't seem to feel any remorse for the things he does, or at least, he doesn't show any. It's hard to feel bad for someone when they seem to actually enjoy getting into trouble. I hope his father takes this incident seriously, and gets James the help he needs, though I doubt that will happen."

"I hope his dad get's him some help, too. From everything I've heard it sounds like he needs it. But don't feel bad on my account, I'm fine. I was a little shook up yesterday, but honestly, Edward jumped in before James managed to really do any major harm. I can deal with a few bruises, and at least James will be gone from our lives now," Bella explained.

Esme turned to me and smiled, before saying, "I don't condone fighting, Edward, but I can understand why you would jump in between them. I am glad you stepped in to help Bella, I will say that. But, just because you didn't get in trouble this time, doesn't mean you won't if you ever get in another fight. Just keep that in mind."

"Don't worry, I don't plan on making this a habit," I said, smiling at her.

"See that you don't," she said, trying to sound stern but failing - her heart just wasn't in it.

At that point the three of us were pretty much finished eating. Bella and I volunteered to clean up so that Esme could head back to her office to continue working, having first reminded Bella to call Charlie later to issue him another invite for dinner.

"What does Esme do?" Bella asked as we finished putting the last of the dishes away.

I looked up at Bella, startled. I couldn't believe she didn't know what Esme did. I mean, I knew I hadn't explained it to her, but I figured Alice or Emmett, at least, would have. She'd been friends with them for weeks now, I would have thought they would have mentioned Esme's job to her at least once or twice in that time. Apparently not.

"She heads a committee board for a charity. She actually started the charity herself, not long after Alice and I came to live here." As I spoke, I headed into the living room, Bella following, all the while continuing my explanation. "It started out local and has since gone state-wide. They're working towards a national level now. It's called Little Hands, and it helps orphaned children find permanent homes. They work independently from the state, but at the same time, they try to work with the state in helping to find permanent homes for the kids in the system, for foster kids, in other-words," I explained.

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder Esme seems so busy," Bella said.

"She's actually busier than normal right now. They're working on a big Fund Raiser that they hope will help to not only raise money, but to raise awareness as well," I explained.

"What kind of fundraiser?" Bella asked.

"It's actually pretty cool. It's a circus-inspired masquerade ball. People won't be walking around dressed like hobo's or anything, it'll be pretty upscale, but from what I've heard about it so far from Esme, it sounds like it will be a big success. Esme is amazing at stuff like this, she's so creative and it comes through in pretty much everything she does. Anyway, it's two weeks from now, so Esme is working hard to make sure all the little details are in order, so she doesn't have this big panic at the end," I explained.

"Wow, that sounds impressive. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun too. And with Esme at the helm I'm sure it will be perfect," she said.

We had sat down in the living room while we talked. I looked at the clock and realized that we still had a few hours before the others got home. I was going to suggest that we go hang out in my room, or even outside, but then I remembered the kiss and thought better of it. I didn't want to be anywhere too secluded. Esme might be tucked away in her office, but at least down here there was always the possibility of her popping in.

If we were tucked away up in my room, or outside somewhere, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to keep myself in line. Even sitting here with her in the living room, I was fighting the urge to see if our second kiss could possibly compare to our first. I had to admit, I had high hopes. But, at the same time, I was also realistic - I couldn't imagine anything being able to top that first kiss.

"So, what should we do now?" Bella asked, while I was trying to figure out the same thing.

"Do you want to go play some foosball?" I asked.

"I think I'm going to take a pass on that. I have a feeling I'm going to end up having to play Rose when she gets home today, and I don't want to be foosballed out by then. I don't think she'd forgive me, or you for that matter, if that were the case," she answered.

I laughed a little. "You're probably right. Rose is obsessed with foosball, and now that she knows you can play she's not going to give you a break. For a while anyway, you should probably avoid foosball when you're not around her."

"We'll have to find someone else who can beat her. We should put out an ad or something, calling for foosball players. We could call it the Great Foosball Challenge. That would keep her occupied for a little while anyway," she joked.

"Ha. That's an idea. All right, we'll keep that in mind, if she starts getting on your nerves too much," I said.

I knew she had been joking, but I was half tempted to go through with it, just to see Rose's reaction when people started showing up to challenge her at foosball. We sat around joking and laughing at the idea, imaging who would be brave enough to show up to challenge Rose.

Most everyone who met Rose was intimidated by her, after all - both by her obvious beauty and her intense personality. She could be sweet and caring to those she loved, but to most of the world she was all fire, ready to flay people with her words. I tried to imagine who'd be brave enough to challenge her, but I was coming up blank.

Even the guys on the football team weren't brave enough to give Emmett crap for being 'whipped' as they liked to call the guys on the team who were as into their girlfriends as Emmett was into Rose. We all knew it wasn't their fear of Em keeping them in line, but their fear of Rose. They were all paranoid that she would somehow hear about their teasing, and hand them their asses on a platter. So, they kept their mouths shut about Emmett's relationship with Rose, never once daring to call him whipped.

I told Bella all of this and by the time I was done we were both cracking up, picturing the huge football players afraid of Rosalie. Bella admitted that as funny as she found the idea, she could sympathize. She told me about how nervous she used to be around Rose, before Rose had finally decided she liked Bella. I guess that I was the only one had never been afraid of Rose. Maybe Alice too, now that I thought of it. Alice certainly had had no problems standing up to Rose when it came to her dating Jasper. She took on Rose without even a second thought.

When we were done joking around we went back to the wondering what we should do till the others got home. We went back and forth for a little while, before we finally decided that I would try to teach Bella how to play the piano. Obviously, it wasn't something she would learn in just one afternoon, but it was something she admitted she was interested in, and something I would enjoy doing. I liked the idea of the two of us spending time together, around the piano, as I tried to teach her to play.

We detoured into the kitchen first, so that Bella could call Charlie. She didn't want to put it off till later, when she would possibly forget. She picked up the phone while I went and sat at the counter, facing her.

I was just close enough to be able to watch her as she talked, but far enough away that if she spoke quietly she'd have some privacy. She didn't seem to feel the need, though, as she didn't bother backing away from me at all, or lowering her voice.

I listened as she asked for Charlie, the pitch of her voice raising a little while she talked to whoever was on the line. I had noticed this about her already, that her voice got higher, just slightly, when she was speaking to someone she didn't know, or wasn't comfortable with.

I could tell she was put on hold, and while she waited she turned to smile at me. I couldn't help but smile back, thankful all over again that she had actually said she'd be my girlfriend. I had no idea when I woke up today that it would be my lucky day.

Right before her dad got on the line she stuck her tongue out at me, then laughed. I rolled my eyes at her, as if I was too mature for that kind of childishness. Of course, I ended by sticking my tongue out at her in return, then winked at her for good measure.

Before she could think of a response to that, her focus was pulled back to the phone, and I realized that Charlie must have gotten on the line.

"Hey, dad, it's me," she said, her voice going back to it's normal tone. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. I'll be as good as new in no time. How's your day going?"

I watched her as she listened to his answer. She was shuffling around, distracted as she was listening to her dad. I wondered what she was thinking about, hoping it was me. I was becoming selfish, at least when it came to Bella. I wanted to be in her thoughts all of the time, as she was in mine. It scared me sometimes, the intensity of my feelings for her.

I knew, now, that that first day, when Bella and I saw each other for the first time across the cafeteria, that I was sensing the possibilities between us. On some level, I knew how strong our connection could be. Now that I'd admitted my feelings to Bella, and she admitted to hers, and we were actually a couple, I knew that I hadn't even begun to guess at how deep that connection could run, how intense my feelings for her could be.

Part of me wished that we had a normal teenaged relationship, fun but not too intense. It would be easier for us that way, in the long run. We wouldn't have to fight to keep control of our emotions, or our reactions, around each other. But, the other part of me, the bigger part if I was being honest, was so thankful that that wasn't the case. Our relationship might take more work, but I knew in the end that it would be worth it, that we would get more out of it than the kids around us.

I admitted to myself that I finally understood why Emmett and Alice had been willing to put so much on the line, my happiness included, for their relationships with Rosalie and Jasper. I had always, on a certain level, gotten why, but I knew now that I hadn't completely understood it.

I felt the last of my resentment towards them washing away, and realized how surprised I was that I had had any left at that point, and that I hadn't consciously knew about it. I wondered if I had allowed my resentment to effect my relationship with my brother and sister, and sincerely hoped not.

As I was off in my own world, thinking everything through, Bella finished talking to her dad. She was standing in front of me, before I had even realized that she was off the phone.

"What's up?" she asked, bringing me back to the here and now.

"Not much, just thinking about Emmett and Alice," I answered honestly.

"Anything you'd care to share?" she asked.

"I was just thinking that I finally understood why they were willing to sacrifice so much to be with Rose and Jaz," I answered, giving her the short version.

She thought about it for a moment, and again I found myself wishing that I could read her mind as I could others. Before I could explore that thought though, she cut in, saying, "I think that when you find the right person, as Emmett and Alice did, that you owe it to yourself to give it your all, even if that means the rest of your life might crumble for a while. It's about balance, is the sacrifice of your happiness in other areas worth it, for this person and how they make you feel? I think as long as the answer is yes, you should try your best to be with that person, and hope that everything else falls into place again. I think if the scale tips the other way, though, that you need to re-evaluate your relationship. Love might be worth a lot, but it's not worth everything."

"That's finally what made me give in to my feelings for you, realizing that it'd be worth it if I did. I was right, too, it was more than worth it to get to this point. I just hope you feel you can say the same," I said, nervously.

"I do. Even after all the crap you put me through, getting to this point with you makes it worth it. Though if you ever put me through something like that again, I might have to re-evaluate," she joked. I could tell that underneath the joke there was a level of seriousness there, as well.

"Don't worry, Minx, now that I've come to terms with my feelings I would never dream of putting you through that again. In fact, I'd gladly go back and give myself a good kick in the ass, if I could only travel through time," I said.

She rolled her eyes at me in exasperation, then grabbed my hand, saying, "Come on, you owe me a piano lesson, mister."

With that, we headed into the music room to begin her first piano lesson. I knew it would be an experience I enjoyed. I hoped almost desperately that it would be one she did as well. I couldn't imagine anything that would be better than spending time with Bella around the piano.

Well, I could, but I wasn't letting myself think about that now. If I did, we'd be too busy determining whether our second kiss could live up to our first, to get to the piano lesson. Looking over at Bella- at this beautiful, brave, independent, caring, loyal woman sitting next to me- I couldn't help but think that it was highly likely that our second kiss would be every bit as good as our first, if not better.

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**A/N:**

_So there you go, the kind of filler but not filler chapter lol. What did you think? You know I loves reviews! Who doesnt? lol_

_All right, first piece of business...a recommendation. I've recently started beta'ing on this story I'd like to recommend to you all. It's called Growing Pains and it's by Dellia53. It's fifteen chapters in so far, and it's a fun story. I enjoy reading it, anyway. So, if you're up for it, give it a shot. You can find it under my favorite author section or my favorite story section in my profile. _

_Next piece of business...I've started a Twitter page for my account here. If you're interested in following me, here you go... http:// twitter. com/ thecornergirl_ , _just remove the spaces. I'll also post the link on my profile, where hopefully it'll work as an actual link. I'll post updates on there about where I am with the next chapter and stuff like that. It'll also be a good way for you all to remind me to update lol. Don't worry about bugging me, that's exactly why I've set my account up, because sometimes I need a little bugging to get me motivated. ;o)_

_All right, the announcement. I've officially decided that there will be a sequel to this story. I've already worked out most of the details to the story (see, I wasn't completely slacking! lol). The first chapter will go up the same day the epilogue for this one goes up, so you'll be able to at least get an idea of what the next one will be like. I'll warn you though, it's going to be a lot different. I couldn't do it any other way._

_All right, I think that's everything. Thanks again everyone, as usual, you all are wonderful! Sorry I've been gone for so long, but I missed you all! ;o) Now go follow me on Twitter! lol_


	35. Chapter 35

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. **

**A/N:**

_Good lord! I've been gone a while lol. For all of you who have been wondering - I'm still alive and I still plan on finishing this story. I've had a lot going on lately and have actually been away from home for the summer (and am still away, actually), so it's been hard to write as I don't have access to my own computer. But, everything is fine and I promise to finish this story, even if it takes a while. I'm sorry for the wait, though! I hadn't meant to go this long between updates. _

_This is going to be a short one and it's meant to get us all caught up, since it's been so long. I'm going to post another update tomorrow, as well. It will also be a short one, but it will bring us to the current part of the story. I just wanted to get this up so that I couldn't procrastinate any longer (which some of you know how wonderful I am at doing). _

_Before I go, I have to say thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story, even with the long, long break. If you're still reading this, you rock. ;o) Thanks guys and thanks, as always, to everyone who takes the time to leave a review. It helps me stay motivated._

_Oh and let me give a quick recommendation. I've mentioned this before, but if you haven't checked it out yet go read "Growing Pains" by dellia53 (got to my favs on my profile to find it). It's a great story that hasn't been getting enough attention. So, while you're waiting for updates from me, go entertain yourself by reading that lol.  
_

_All right, let's get to this, shall we?_

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**Alice**

"Seriously, you guys, we need to hurry this up. Come on, Emmett; get your ass in the car," I ground out in frustration.

I was at that point where I was hovering between mildly annoyed and thoroughly exasperated, with the emphasis starting to lean towards the latter. I couldn't remember the last time it had taken us this long to get ourselves together and on our way home. Usually we were in the car in five minutes tops; today we were going on fifteen, with Emmett still taking his good ole time. If he didn't get in the car soon I was going to whip out a can of whoop ass on him.

Thinking of me kicking Emmett's ass had me laughing to myself, and helped ease my mood back a little. He would never live it down if I kicked his ass in the school parking lot. And make no mistake about it; I _would_ kick his ass if I wanted to. He was big, but I was totally bad-ass. I was sure I could totally take that big ox down.

Emmett's answer brought me back to myself. "Chill out, Cullen. What the hell's the big rush? Why you so excited to get home?"

"For Christ's sake, Em, haven't you been paying attention? Bella and Edward, remember? They're _so_ totally on the verge of sealing the deal and officially becoming an item, and I want to know if it's happened yet or if they both punked out. So, get your ass in the car and let's be on our way," I answered, totally annoyed that my brother could be so clueless.

We'd both been pushing for this exact outcome for a while and, now, when the fruits of our labor were finally paying off, he takes his damn time getting in the car. Men. I swear, even the best of them aren't half as capable as we women. They lose focus the second your back is turned.

"Alice, does it really matter if we're a couple minutes later than we normally are? It won't change anything. Whatever's happened between them today has already happened, so what are a few minutes?" Rose asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her and thought, not for the first time, that Rosalie should have been born a man; she totally had the personality of one. How else could you explain her not being excited about this? I heard Jasper let out a quiet laugh under his breath and knew that he was sensing my annoyance, and getting a kick out of it. The traitor.

"Because, Rosalie, I've been waiting patiently all day for this. It's about time I get my just reward and find out what's been going on between them during our absence," I spit out through clenched teeth. That's the thing about family; they have no problem pushing you to the edge of your limit.

"Ha! Patiently my ass. I can't count the number of times you've checked your watch today - I think it must have been over a hundred during lunch alone. You've been anything but patient," Emmett said. I would have argued with him, but he had _finally_ got himself in the car, so I was willing to let it pass for the sake of getting our asses moving.

"Fine, whatever, I wasn't patient. Rose, we're all in the car, let's get rolling, and make it quick, will ya?"

Both Jasper and Emmett turned to give me dirty looks and I realized what I had just said. I had actually encouraged Rose to go _faster_. Oh. Dear lord.

"Be happy to," she replied, giving me a little wink in the rearview mirror.

I had just enough time to think _oh shit_ before we tore out of the parking lot, all squeals and burnt rubber. I sent up a little prayer that we would actually make it home alive, and gave Jaz and Em a little apology shrug. Under the circumstances, it was the best I could do. If Rose managed to get us home in one piece, I'd be happy for the time she'd make up during the drive.

I realized, as we hit the highway, that anticipating Rose getting us home in one piece might be wishful thinking on my part. She got the fast part down, but I wasn't sure there was a lot of driving involved. I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer as we came within inches of a black Chevy Malibu, whose driver looked suspiciously like Principal Dent. If it was him, I was hoping that we were going too fast for him to identify us. After all, I didn't want to be suspended for almost killing the principal – that would ruin my perfect record.

Horns blared at us as we zigged through traffic, cutting off cars every which way. At one point, we were driving between the two lanes, with cars on both sides of us. I immediately felt a twinge of fear for the drivers of those two cars as I knew they were just barely staying on the road with us wedged between them. I could hear Emmett cursing under his breath and knew he probably feared that we weren't going to make it out of this one in one piece.

Rose really was a public hazard and should have had her license revoked – I had no idea how she managed to constantly avoid being pulled over by the police, but she did. This was unfortunate for the rest of us, who were forced to drive with her. I wondered, not for the first time, if there was anyway I could tip off a cop, have him lay in wait for her. I'd even be willing to bribe him to revoke her license but, somehow, I thought that would be crossing a line. I was nothing if not loyal to my family.

I closed my eyes and tried to distract myself from Rose's terrifying driving and, instead, attempted to use my ability to see if we'd make it home in one piece or not. When that failed to work I thought over everything Emmett and I had done to try to help Bella and Edward along.

I came up with the idea of Bella and Edward as a couple pretty much from the first day they'd met. Actually, it was probably from the first few moments they'd seen each other. Edward tried to shrug it off, but I knew when he'd seen her in the cafeteria that first day that there was some kind of connection there. And my visions told me that Bella would end up being special to _both_ of us, not just me. So, of course, I decided to work towards helping Bella and Edward find coupledom bliss. The more I got to know Bella, the more I realized they'd be perfect together; and Edward was sure due for a shot from Cupid's Arrow, so why not Bella? In my opinion, anyway, it was brilliant.

It didn't take me long to realize I wasn't the only one fantasizing about Edward and Bella getting together. It took me a little while to see what he was doing, but I eventually figured out that Emmett had been making the push for them to get together, as well. He pretty much viewed Bella as a little sister right from the start, and I realized he wanted to cement that relationship - tie her to our family in a more permanent way. Edward was his idea of cement. So when I walked in on him bragging about Edward to Bella, I knew what he was trying to do. After that, it only made sense for us to work together.

I was pretty sure that no one else had suspected us. At least, no one else _appeared_ to; I knew that it was almost impossible to fool Jasper, so chances were he knew, but was just politely pretending he did not. Just one of the many reasons why I loved that man.

Our plan was pretty simple, it had to be if we wanted it to get by Edward undetected. We would do our best to quietly smooth over Bella and Edward's initial dislike of each other, by talking about Bella in front of Edward as much as possible, and vice versa. Then we left Edward alone as much as possible. We knew he needed to be the one to cave, and we knew the best way to make that happen was to leave him by himself as much as possible. He'd eventually get lonely and he'd eventually see how unreasonable he had been acting, and when he did, Bella would be there waiting, already in our family fold. I knew the attraction between them would be too much for him to resist, at that point.

It was perfect, and I knew it was on its way to working, until James stepped in a sped the process up a bit. I can't say that I'm upset about the result, but I wish we had managed to protect Bella from him better, and I had to admit, I was maybe just a little sad our plan hadn't been given the time to work it's magic.

But, oh well. We got the results we were looking for. At least, I thought we had. I felt sure that today was the day it would all _finally_ pan out, but I wouldn't know one way or another, until we got home. No one understood how hard it was for me to remain patient all of this time, if the did they would have been in the car and ready to get home without any prodding on my part.

I felt Jaz's hand pick up mine and give it a squeeze. I chanced opening my eyes to look over at him. He was smiling at me, I knew he was sensing my excitement and nerves and lending me some of his calm. I didn't know how he had any calm left with Rose behind the wheel. When I looked around, though, I was thankful to realize we were almost home. My prayers must have been heard, I could think of no other explanation for us making it home in one piece.

We pulled into the driveway and Rose parked in front of the house. Emmett slammed open his door and threw himself on the grass, kissing it when he landed. Rose rolled her eyes and went over and used her foot to lightly knock him over. I was pretty sure she thought he was teasing her, but after exchanging a look with Jasper, I knew we both suspected he was being serious. I had had my eyes closed most of the ride, but I knew that he would have kept his open for fear of Rose seeing him and giving him a hard time about it, not to mention distracting her from the road. To make things worse, he had a front seat view the entire time. I was surprised his hair hadn't turned white from fright.

As humorous as I found the little show happening in the front yard, I was more interested in what was happening inside the house. I grabbed my stuff and flew up the stairs, not even caring if Jaz was behind me.

When I entered the house I stood perfectly still for a moment, trying to detect the whereabouts of Bella and Edward, I need not have bothered. I could hear them in the music room, the piano giving away their location.

I turned and headed for the doors to the music room, Jaz right on my heels. I hadn't heard him come up behind me, I was that focused on my mission. I gave a superficial knock before I threw open the doors, not even waiting for an answer.

"Knock, knock my lovelies. Did you miss us?" I asked, the smile already overtaking my face. They didn't have to say a word; I could already see the answer I had been waiting for all day.

Bella was the one playing the piano – something I would have known if I had bothered to actually listen to the music being played, it was obvious she was a novice – and Edward was straddling the piano bench facing Bella. His right hand resting on her upper thigh, his left softly entangled within her hair, his thumb stroking her ear. Bella was leaning into his left hand, her mouth lightly opened in an expression of happiness, with more than a little passion thrown in. Whatever else has happened today – and you could bet I'd be getting all the details later – they had definitely become a couple, officially.

I expected Edward to jump away from her when I came slamming through the door. Instead, he slowly lowered his left hand and turned to face us. I was sure from reading Bella's expression that they had had a little moment there, before he turned towards us. Oh, this was perfect; I was having a hard time containing my glee.

Jasper came up next to me, grabbing my hand as he did. I was sure he was sensing my excitement about to consume me and thought to calm me down. I wasn't sure it was going to work this time.

Just then, Edward brought me out of my thoughts, saying, "Alice. Jasper. How was your day?"

Before I could answer, Jasper cut in. "Not bad. There was a lot of talk about the fight, not much happening besides that, though."

"Oh, no," I broke in, "do _not_ think we are not talking about this. All that other crap can wait. Tell us what's going on between the two of you. Now, if you please."

I knew I was pushing it, but I didn't care. Edward was my brother and Bella was my best friend – they had to put up with me, even at my most annoying.

Bella was the one to answer. With a mischievous smile on her face she said, simply, "Alice, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Edward."

I squealed in delight, jumping up and down as I did. Normally, a sound like that would not come out of my mouth – it was too undignified – but I couldn't help it. I was just too happy.

"ohmygodohmygodohmygod! This is so perfect! Ha! And I know before Emmett, wonderful. Where is that big bear, anyway, I have to go tell him about this. He did, after all, help arrange this," I distractedly said as I turned to walk out the music room to find Em and Rose. This was too perfect to miss out on telling them about, myself.

"Wait," Edward called out to my receding back, "what do you mean Emmett helped arrange this?"

I laughed and ignored his question, calling out instead, "And don't think this conversation is over. I want details!"

I heard Edward sigh in frustration as I disappeared on my mission. I found Em and Rose still outside on the front lawn. Their little interaction seemed to have turned into an all out fight.

"I swear to you, Emmett, you take that back or I will _make_ you regret it," Rose was yelling.

"Look, Rose, I love you, I swear I do, but you are the _worst _driver I have ever met. We are all terrified to get in the damn car with you," Emmett answered, frustration evident in his voice.

I stopped for a moment deciding if I should let this particular fight pan out, after all, it might be time that Rose found out the truth about her driving. In the end, I decided I couldn't wait. I'm sure Em would pick this back up again the next time he was forced to drive with Rose.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rose, your driving sucks. Em, you were scared for your life. Yada, yada. Can we move on? We have more important things to discuss right now," I cut through their bickering.

They both turned on me, their anger finding a common enemy. Me. Whatever. I had more important things to do right now.

Rose started, "Alice, you keep outta…"

"Rose," I said, cutting her off before she got warmed up. "Shut up. You'll want to hear this, I promise. If you two really want to bicker like twelve year olds, you can do so later."

"What's happened?" Emmett asked, always willing to drop anything for a good piece of gossip.

Rose snorted at us, but let me answer. I knew she had to be almost as curious as Emmett.

I tried to think of a great way of sharing the news but decided, in this case, simple would be best.

"They're together. Officially."

"Seriously? They said so? What happened? Give me the details," Em said.

"Bella said so. I don't know what happened, nor do I have any of the details, yet. I came out here to tell you guys, first. I prioritized, like any good sister would do," I answered.

"What exactly did she say?" he asked me. I think he still didn't quite believe that they were together, together.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, why don't we just go in and find out for ourselves what's going on?" Rose cut in, annoyed with our penchant for gossiping.

Without waiting for us, she turned and headed in the house. Em and I gave each other a look, and I shrugged at him and went to follow Rose. She had a point.

"Well, it's about time Edward got his shit together and won her over. He would have been a fucking idiot if he hadn't seen how perfect Bella was for him," Em said, apparently not being able to resist commenting on the foibles of our brother.

I snickered in return but didn't bother responding. I wanted in the house and I wanted to hear their story – I felt like I had been waiting a lifetime for it.

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**A/N:**

_All right, again, sorry for the wait and the shortness of this chapter! Hopefully I'll get back on some kind of schedule now._

_Once again, thanks for sticking by me. Drop me a line or two to let me know what you thought, and that you're still around._

_And remember, go check out "Growing Pains"._

_Thanks to everyone! :o)_


	36. Chapter 36

**Everyone knows that Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, right? I mean, you wouldn't be here if you didn't...at least, I hope you wouldn't. **

**A/N:**

_So, of course by tomorrow I meant two days lol. I might have gotten this done yesterday and posted had I had access to the computer, but I did not, so don't yell at me. ;o)_

_Let me see, what do I have to cover? First and foremost, thanks to everyone who came back for the last chapter, and a double thanks to everyone who dropped me a line to let me know they had done so! I was relieved to see I hadn't lost everyone. :o) _

_Quick shout-outs...Happy belated anniversary to RieDonovan and her husband! I hope he outdid my chapter for you lol. missie33 - lol, no matter what, I will finish this story, I promise. And to everyone (and in particular, iLikeLlamas2011) wondering about the piano scene. Yes, he was teaching Bella how to play the piano, and yes, we will get to see some of that real soon. These last two chapters were more about getting us caught up, but we're there now so the fun can begin._

_A big thanks to my friend and doppleganger, AmandaCullen84 for reading over this, catching a few mistakes and making me feel better about it as a chapter. Thanks, Amanda! As always, you rock.  
_

_I think that's it, for the moment. As usual, thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys are awesome. :o)  
_

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**Emmett**

We were sitting around in the living room just relaxing and waiting to hear "The Story" from Edward and Bella. That's what I was calling it now, "The Story". With all the damn drama involved in it, I thought it needed some kind of title. "The Story" was the best I could do under short notice. I'm not the creative type, so what?

Rose was snuggled into my side so I knew she had forgiven me for our little spat out on the front lawn. I secretly wondered if she was letting it go because she was afraid of getting the others involved and having them agree with me. Nobody wants to hear that they're the worst god-awful driver to ever grace the road, after all. I wasn't dumb enough to ask if that's why she was letting it go, though. I may not be the smartest guy around, but I'm not the dumbest, either.

When everyone was settled in, all of our attention went to Bella and Edward. Bella, I could tell, wasn't so happy about this. She never was one for being the center of attention.

"So, details." Alice, like always, cut right to the chase. It was what we all wanted to know, anyway.

"Look, guys," Edward said as he ran his hand through his hair, already exasperated by us. "This isn't a big deal. Bella and I are together; can't we just leave it at that? We have more important stuff we need to cover right now."

I snorted. Everyone in the room turned to stare at me in expectation. I was surprised I beat Alice to the punch, actually. I figured if anyone would have been annoyed at Edward trying to skip the good stuff, it would have been her.

"Look, that's not going to cut it, Eddie boy. We deserve to at least hear a Cliff's Notes version of what happened. We've been waiting for the two of you to get your shit together for too long now, the least you could do is give us a little more than that," I said.

Edward sighed and leaned back into the couch, where he and Bella were sitting. He wrapped his hand around hers and raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her decision.

Before Bella had a chance to answer, Alice finally spoke up.

"Bella, you promised," was all she said.

Bella and Alice had a little stare down for a moment, before Bella finally gave in, realizing that there was no way in hell that Alice would.

"All right, fine," Bella said, rolling her eyes at us as she spoke. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend. We have feelings for each other. We're very happy right now and feel all squishy inside. Now, can we skip the part where we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya together?"

Alice clapped her hands in delight and I gave a little laugh at Bella's sarcasm. She wasn't happy but, oh well, if the two of them had gotten this over with earlier, we wouldn't be so interested in them right now. It wasn't our fault they had to go and turn it into "The Story". Of course we were all focused on their relationship – we'd been waiting for it to happen for so effing long now.

"So, are you in love, then?" Alice asked, her eyes lit up with excitement.

"None of your business," Edward spat out, reaching the edge of his patience.

Alice pouted, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer from him. I could see, from the determination in her face, that she was just going to wait till she could get Bella alone, and get what she wanted to know from her then.

"Are you going to take her to the Charity Gala?" Rose asked.

I wasn't surprised that this was the first place Rose's mind went as she had been looking forward to the Gala for a while now. This was the second one of Esme's Charity Balls that we would be attending, but the first masquerade. Even I was looking forward to it a little - I figured, if nothing else, I'd get to see Rose all dressed up, looking hot. I was hoping her dress would be oh-so-slinky – now _that_ would be worth the sacrifice of having to get all dressed up myself.

"I'm not going," Edward replied.

"We all have to go," Jasper shot back at him.

Edward shrugged, saying, "I didn't have to go last year, I'm not going this year, either."

"You didn't go last year, Edward, because you didn't have a date. Esme felt bad about forcing you to go alone," Alice snickered at him.

"Did she tell you that?" he asked, somewhat defensively.

"Dude, she didn't have to. Why else would she have forced the rest of us to go but allow you to stay home? She felt bad for your pathetic, dateless ass," I answered, unable to hold back my laughter.

"All right, whatever," Rose cut in, "last year doesn't matter, so just forget it. Now that you're with Bella, she's going to want you to attend, I'd bet money on it. So, the question is, are you taking Bella with you?"

I could tell that she was impatient but didn't know if it was because she wanted to start making plans or if she just wanted to know if her friend was going to be going with us. I knew how much she cared for Bella even if at first she had wanted nothing to do with her. Bella had definitely become one of her closest friends. I kind of thought she had been hoping that Edward and Bella would get together in enough time for him to take her with us to the Gala, all along.

Edward looked more than a little frustrated with all of us. Truth be told, I couldn't blame him, we had certainly put him on the spot. Finally he let out a big sigh and then turned to face Bella.

"Bella, would you be my date for the Masquerade?" he asked, simply.

She stared him down; unhappy with the way he had been forced into asking her, I was sure. Edward seemed to realize his mistake and quickly backtracked.

"I would prefer not to have to go to the ball, but if I'm going, there's no one I'd be happier to have as my date. You know me not wanting to go has nothing to do with you. I would just rather skip this sort of thing," he explained.

Bella laughed, enjoying his discomfort, I guess. Girls were like that, they always wanted the upper hand. They needn't bother; they were born with the upper hand, it just took them a while to realize it.

"I get it, Edward. Balls aren't really my kind of thing, either, so I can't blame you for not exactly wanting to go," Bella said.

Edward smiled at her, glad she wasn't making a thing out of it, I figured. "Well, Minx, will you go with me, then?" he asked.

"Tell me more about it. What kind of outfit will I have to wear? How much are tickets? When is it, again?" she asked.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," I cut in, "Minx? You already have nicknames for each other? Bella, what's yours for Edward? Please tell me it's something fun, like, Pookie, or, oh I know, what about Tiny?" I laughed.

Bella was laughing along with me a little, though she was trying to hide it. Edward was definitely not amused. He would try to kill me if she started calling him Pookie, but it would be so worth it.

"No, Em, I'm afraid I just call him Edward," she answered.

Rose got us back on track by answering Bella's questions. "It's a masquerade ball, so we'll be in costumes, but it's not like party store costumes. It's more like colorful ball gowns with masks and feathers, that sort of thing. Esme purchases tickets for us. She wants us to attend to show support, but since she doesn't really give us a choice in the matter, she pays our way. I'm sure as Edward's date she'll buy your ticket as well. And it's two weeks from Saturday."

"Don't worry about the dress," Alice added. "I'll be taking care of that for you, if you come."

"Alice. No. There's no way I'm letting you buy me a ball gown," Bella returned. I could see her stubborn side kicking in.

"This is what I do, Bella. Consider it an early birthday present or something. But, I am buying you a dress – that way I know it's been Alice approved. And trust me, you'll look sexy," she said.

Bella blushed a little, saying, "Not too sexy, Alice. Promise me."

"If I promise, is it a deal?" Alice asked hopefully.

"What if you picked it out but I paid for it? Wouldn't that be the better way to do it? How much are ball gowns, anyway? I don't want you spending all of that money one me," Bella said.

"Bella, this isn't that difficult – just say, 'Yes, Alice, you may dress me.' Then show up Saturday, two weeks from now, and let me beautify you." I knew Alice was gonna win this round. That little pixie had her mind set; she was going to dress Bella. Nothing under the sun would convince Alice to back down from this one.

Bella sighed in defeat, "All right. Yes, Alice, you may dress me – as long as it's not too sexy. Or slinky. Or low cut. _And_, we're discussing payment after you get the dress."

"We'll see - later. You'll love the dress I have picked out for you, though. It's going to be perfect," Alice said.

I snickered to myself. I should have known she'd already planned for all of this and had something picked out for Bella. Leave it to Alice to shop ahead.

"For Christ's sake, everyone shut up and let her answer my question already! Bella, will you be my date?" Edward ground out, obviously annoyed by all the chatter.

"Yes. Love to," she answered as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Even I got a little choked up at that little display of effection and I'm obviously not the kind of guy that gets choked up...over anything. Big strong dude walking, after all.

Alice started outlining her plans to Bella. "All right, perfect. Bella, I think you should come over that Saturday, early, and we can make a day out of it. Me, you and Rose will have lunch together and then we'll all get ready. I'll do your makeup and hair and make you look beautiful!" she finished, triumphantly.

"Alice, she already is beautiful, without any help from you," Edward admonished.

I had to agree with him on that. I thought all three of my girls were beauties. Of course, I thought Bella and Alice were beautiful in a sisterly kinda way, while Rose was beautiful in a takes-my-breathe-away kind of way. But, no one could deny that all three of them had been blessed in the looks department. I was proud that they all seemed to be blessed in the personality departments as well. Beauty wasn't everything, after all.

"oooooohhhhhhhhhh, you are so in love, Edward Cullen!" Alice sang out gleefully. I didn't know if she was serious or playing with him but, either way, I thought it was time to change the subject. I could see things degenerate from here if we let it go on and we still had some things to cover.

"Before this turns into one of your little sibling spats we're all oh so very fond of, we need to cover some business," I broke into their would-be bickering.

All eyes again turned expectantly in my direction. Sure that I had everyone's attention I explained.

"I just thought we should go over some of what we all heard today, post-fight. Strategize a little. The gossip wasn't terrible today, but that's just because no one has seen Bella, yet," I pointedly eyed Bella's still horribly bruised face. "But they will, and when they do we need to get it under control quickly, or we'll never hear the end of the gossip."

"Bella, do you plan on going back to school tomorrow, or waiting until Monday?" Jasper asked. I knew he had probably been thinking about the same thing I had been, all day - how to gain control over the situation.

Bella sighed and then sat quietly for a long moment, thinking it over. When she finally reached a decision, she said, "I guess I'm gonna go in. I'm feeling better. My face is still a little sore but my headache is completely gone. It feels cowardly not to go in. I might as well get it over sooner, rather than later – I think the longer I wait the worse the gossip will be. My face will look a lot better by Monday, but that'll give them three long days to imagine whatever they come up with; and I'm sure they're being creative. No, I'll go in tomorrow."

I stole a quick peak at Edward, to see how he'd take this. He didn't look happy, but he was keeping his mouth shut. I knew he'd want her to wait till Monday in hopes that her bruising would go away and the gossip would have a chance to die down some. Plus, I was sure he'd want to spend the day with her again, tomorrow. Besides Esme, who would be busy with Gala stuff, they'd have the house to themselves all day.

I had to admit, though, that Bella had a point. The gossip would probably pick up speed if she didn't show up tomorrow. Plus, while I didn't think it was cowardly, if it had been me, I'd probably just want to go in and get the worst over with, sooner rather than later.

I was impressed that Edward had managed to keep his mouth shut and not try to talk Bella out of going. This had to be her decision, and if he tried to talk her out of it, it just would have made him come off like an over-protective ass. He was an over-protective ass, sometimes, but it was their first day as an official couple, we didn't need Bella realizing that so soon.

Then again, when I thought over their history together, I figured she most likely had already figured that out.

"So, what were they saying?" Bella asked me.

Lost in thought, her question confused me. "What was who saying?" I asked.

"What were the kids at school saying? You said that the gossip wasn't terrible today, but that's implying there was gossip. So, what was it?" she asked.

I grinned in anticipation. This should be fun. I loved her like a sister, but that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy seeing her squirm a little.

"Oh, you know, Bells, just the usual. Let's see, what were some of the rumors I heard today? Oh, yea, now I remember - that you and Edward were a secret couple and you cheated on him with James. That you and James were a secret couple and you cheated on him with Edward. That the three of you were involved in a ménage à trios gone wrong and that jealousy got the best of James. And, by far my favorite, that Edward and James were secret lovers and you had managed to steal one or the other away," I explained, gleefully. Really, she hadn't been thinking it through when she had asked me, of all the people in the room, to update her on what was being said. Of course I would pick the juiciest rumors.

Her face had gone ashen and then bright red when she heard all of the different things being said. Edward's eyes looked like steel and I knew he wasn't enjoying the situation as much as I was but, oh well, if he ever managed to pull the stick out of his butt he'd find it funny, I was sure.

Bella looked around the room at the others for confirmation. They all either silently nodded, backing what I said up, or avoided her eyes all together. The wimps.

"You would think they would be able to come up with at least one non-sex related rumor. Our school is full of pervs," she finally said. She didn't look any less embarrassed, but she seemed to be handling it like a pro. Once again, I was proud of her.

Everyone laughed and some of the tension I hadn't even known was there left the room. Edward's eyes went back to normal and I could see that he understood there was nothing he could do about the rumors; especially not from home, which was where he would be stuck tomorrow.

"So, how do we deal with this?" Rose asked.

Jasper was the first to answer. "I think it will help that Edward and Bella are a couple now; we can use that to our advantage. We'll just tell them that James liked Bella and got upset when he found out that she was going out with Edward. Everyone knows how much Edward and James hate each other, which will also work to our advantage."

I thought it over and decided it was simple enough to be believable and yet offered enough drama to appease the rumor mongers. I was pretty sure it would work.

I nodded my head, giving me seal of approval to the plan. "Works for me," I said. "Bella, Edward? You guys okay with that?"

Bella gave me a nod, letting me know it was okay with her. I'm sure she was grateful that we managed to come up with something that hadn't involved her cheating on anyone. I had to wait a minute to get Edward's approval; I knew he was thinking the whole thing over, trying to see any problems that might arise. Finally, he shook his head in agreement.

That settled, we all relaxed a little. With business all done and covered we could all go our own ways, which I was happy to do – I hadn't managed to get my afternoon snack in yet, after all.

Before I went to stand up to head to the kitchen I saw Edward quietly signaling me. I stopped myself from getting up just as I had started to shift my weight forward, which left me a little more than off balance and fighting to not land myself smack dab in Rose's lap – a prospect I normally wouldn't mind if we weren't in a room full of people and if I didn't think I'd just end up squishing her. She gave me a decidedly strange look but as I couldn't think of a way to explain without giving up that Edward had caught my attention just as I was standing up, I just shrugged at her and pretended to be embarrassed.

When Rose looked away again I turned back to Edward to see what he wanted, though I was sure I already knew. He cocked his eyebrow at me and pointedly looked at Bella. Yup, knew what he wanted. I waited a second or two before I nodded slightly, just enough so that he'd get the message but not enough where else in the room would be wondering what the hell I was doing. Then, without waiting for his response, I got up and headed into the kitchen.

His message had come through loud and clear; I was to watch Bella's back tomorrow.

Not that I didn't think she could handle herself, I knew that she could. I also knew Edward knew that she could handle herself – I doubted he would fall for someone who couldn't. But I knew Edward was thinking the same thing I was…it never hurt to have someone you trusted watching your back.

I knew, if nothing else, that tomorrow should prove interesting. I was glad I wasn't in Edward's shoes – having to wait around by yourself all day while the girl you loved went off to face the rumor mill all by her lonesome would not be my idea of a good time.

Luckily, I wasn't in Edward's shoes.

*********************************************

**A/N:**

_So drop me a line, let me know what you think. It'll start getting better soon, promise._

_Next update will come soon-ish, though I won't promise on a specific date. I'll start working on it today and hopefully it won't take too long, so keep your eyes open._

_I've been thinking a lot about the sequel, planning some things out and what not, and I'm really getting excited to write it. It'll be a lot different from this one but I hope it'll end up better. As much as I love writing this one, it could have definitely done with some improving...especially in the beginning when I had no idea what I was doing. So thanks everyone for sticking by me through the mess! lol. _

_All right, thanks again!_


	37. Chapter 37

**Twilight, Stephenie Meyers, you know the drill.**

**A/N:**

_I'm officially back in the swing of things. :o) So, honestly, how many of you thought it would be like another month before you saw the next update? lol._

_Quick shout-out to** pookietn **without whom my favorite part of this chapter might not have come about. I can't say which part without giving it away, but you'll know it when you get to it. It involves my favorite bitch who we all love to hate.  
_

_Everyone else...thanks again if you're still reading this! You've come a long way with me, just a little bit more to go. ;o)_

_Now let's get on with the show, shall we?_

_******************************************************  
_

**Bella**

"Are you ready?" Emmett asked as I got out of my truck.

We had all decided to meet up before school this morning to once again present a united front. It seemed like were having to do this more and more lately. I was hoping we were coming to the end of all of this drama so that we could finally just show up at school without having to strategize – I would like to think that wasn't too much to ask.

"Yeah, I think so," I answered as I joined Em and the others.

We all said our good mornings and started heading towards the school.

"Anything we need to cover before we go in?" Alice asked

We slowed down as everyone considered. I was drawing a blank in terms of what to do about any gossip we encountered.

Jasper spoke up. "I don't think so. We really can't come up with any kind of plan until we know what we're facing. For right now, I think it's going to have to be enough to go in as a unit. At least that way they'll see that there hasn't been a break with Edward and Bella - or not enough of one to divide her from the rest of us, anyway. Hopefully that will take care of some of the worst rumors."

"Bella, just keep in mind that we're all around if you get overwhelmed. We'll all do whatever we can to help you out, but you need to tell us if it gets too much for you," Rose said.

"Thanks Rose. I think I'll be fine, though. I mean, really, how bad can it be?" I asked.

Famous last words, right?

*****

You know those dreams you have where you show up naked at school and everyone is staring at you? This was worse. This was like showing up naked and knowing everyone was staring at you while trying to picture you having sex…with two guys at once.

Yeah - that bad.

As soon as we walked through the front door I could feel that I had grossly underestimated the situation. The air around me sparked with an energy that I could only describe as manic. Though I couldn't make out any words, I could feel the buzz of conversations swirl around me, and I knew without having to ask that I was the focus of those conversations. I could feel the eyes of everyone around us zoom in on my still purple face, taking in the bruises that covered half of my face. The noise level quickly rose to a feverish pitch.

For a full minute I was frozen where I stood; embarrassed by all the eyes on me, knowing that everyone was making up their own scenarios to explain what had happened between me, James and Edward. I wanted to climb under a rock until this all blew over.

I cursed James in my head for bringing this all down upon me. My life had been so much simpler before he had entered it. Then, it occurred to me that I might not have Edward right now, if it wasn't for James.

As I sat there trying to get control of my emotions, especially my embarrassment, I decided that, in the end, it was a fair trade – Edward for all of this.

Finally, when I was composed again, I did the only thing I could think of to do – I started to laugh. I knew that I could get through this. The only people at this school whose opinions I cared about were the ones standing by my side, or the one stuck at home worrying about me.

These people, the ones speculating on my possibly sordid love triangle, they didn't matter. They could imagine whatever they wanted to; it wouldn't bother me – not as long as I had the Cullen's on my side.

Em stared at me like I had gone off the deep end and maybe I had, but what else was I supposed to do. "Bells? You all right?" he asked nervously.

"I'm fine, Em. Come on, let's get to our lockers," I answered.

I was still using Em's locker, so we all headed in that direction. When I got the chance I was going to have to relocate all of my stuff back to my own locker – but, for the moment, I knew that could wait.

For once, I lead the way. I knew that today was going to be my show. I was going to have to be the one to stand down the rumors. I was going to have to be the one holding my head high. So it was going to be me calling the shots.

When we got to Emmett and Rose's lockers we all huddled up. I knew the others were curious as to what I was thinking. Not for the first time, I thought about how lucky I was to have such loyal friends. Unlike the other students sharing the hallway with us, I knew that I could count on these guys to back me up, no matter what. And I would gladly do the same for any of them.

"So, what's up?" Jasper asked.

"If anyone asks you any rumors today, tell them to come to me about them," I answered.

"What do you mean? Why would we do that?" Alice asked confusion evident in her voice.

Before I could answer, Rose cut me off, saying, "Bella, you don't need to take this on yourself. That's what we're here for. There's no reason for you to try to deal with this on your own."

"Yes, I think there is, actually. Rose, you were just there, you saw how crazy everyone got when they saw at my face. The only way to deal with this is to either wait it out or let me stand up to them. If I show embarrassment or try to hide from any of this, they're going to see that as confirmation of the rumors. But, if I laugh at the rumors, if I'm confident in denying them, we might be able to kill this before it takes hold," I explained.

The others were silent as they processed my idea. I could see that Alice and Emmett in particular, didn't like it, but they also couldn't seem to come up with something better.

"So what's our role in this, then?" Jasper asked.

"Do as you said, present a united front. That will go a long way towards helping me get past this," I answered.

"Bella, I am _not_ going to just sit idly by while everyone makes up horrible rumors about my best friend. You can't ask that of me – you can't ask that of any of us," Alice said.

"And I don't expect you to, Alice. You can deny the rumors you hear; but try to do so calmly. Don't get upset at any of them, no matter what you hear. _We_ know they're not true, and that's all I care about. I don't care if the whole school is talking about me; I care about you guys and Edward. So just laugh off anything that comes your way. It's not worth getting upset over and doing so will only add fuel to the fire. Plus, we might as well enjoy some of the craziness they come up with," I explained.

"You know, this might actually work," Rose said.

"She's right," said Jasper. "It's probably the best hope we have of calming the rumors down. They want us to react. They want us to get mad and lose our tempers, giving everyone more to talk about. If we don't react, they have nothing to work with."

"So, it's decided, everyone in agreement?" I asked.

Everyone shook their heads, if somewhat hesitantly. I knew they might not like it, but it was our best option.

"Good. That's done, then. Now, I want you all to promise you won't tell Edward anything you hear today," I said.

"I'm not lying to my brother," Alice said, automatically.

"No, no lying," I answered. "But we don't have to actually tell him any of the particular rumors we hear. He'll only get mad and when he comes back he'll have it in for everyone. It's better to just not tell him anything specific. And what good would it do him, anyway? He'll just get angry that he wasn't here today to help deal with this."

"Fine," Alice answered. "He'd probably just get himself expelled for trying to come back and fight everyone over your honor, anyway."

Leave it to Alice to put a romantic twist on all of this.

I looked at the others to get their promises. Jasper and Rose both nodded their agreements without any hesitation. Emmett, however, was avoiding my eye.

"Em," I asked.

"Hmm?" he returned.

"Do you promise?"

He let out a long breath before he answered. "Look, Bells, if it were me, I'd want to know what was being said about Rose. I don't think its right keeping him in the dark."

"And, hearing the rumors, what would you then do when you came back to school?" I asked.

"Kick some ass, of course," he explained.

"And do you think Edward can kick some ass right after being suspended for fighting and not get expelled?" I asked.

He was silent for a long time before he finally answered. "Okay, I see your point, but I still think he deserves to know. This involves him as well, you know."

"How about we compromise? We'll wait to see how the day goes and then we'll talk about it after school, before we head back to your house," I said.

"All right, that sounds fair."

And so we had come up with our game plan for the day.

I was feeling confident when we all headed off for our first classes. After dealing with the stress of trying to stay one step ahead of James, I figured this would be a walk in the park.

*****

I started off towards English by myself. I made it to my classroom without incident, which increased my confidence in my ability to handle the gossip. I took my seat and looked around the room and waited. I figured, eventually, someone would approach me.

I was right.

Tyler came over and leaned back on the desk next to mine and stared at me. I stared back; I wasn't about to make this any easier by opening the conversation for him.

After a few seconds he seemed to get up whatever nerve he had been waiting for and placed his cards on the table. "So, heard you and James were involved in some kind of drug cartel gone wrong and Edward was working towards busting you out when James found out."

"What? No. Where did you hear that one? _Drugs?_" I asked, confused that the rumors had taken on such an illicit bent.

"Dude, everyone's saying it – I heard it from multiple sources," he answered.

"No, there was no illegal activity taking place of any kind," I emphasized.

I felt someone off to the side and I looked up to see Angela standing in the aisle, rolling her eyes at Tyler.

"Tyler, get off my desk. And no one but you has said anything about drugs. Stop making up rumors; especially rumors that could get people in trouble with the police," she said.

"Whatever. I'm not the only one saying it," Tyler moped as he went off to find his seat.

I smiled my thanks at Angela. Despite my confidence in my ability to handle the gossip today, I had been caught off guard by the very first rumor.

"Don't mind him," Angela began to explain. "I heard his pot source got himself arrested and now he's got drugs on the brain. He's really the only one saying that, as far as I know."

"Thanks for your help, Angela."

"So, are you in a lot of pain?" she asked as she pointed to my face.

"No, it definitely looks a lot worse than it feels. I barely even notice it anymore," I answered.

I could tell she was about to ask me more when Mrs. Williet walked in, putting an end to our conversation for the moment.

I used the time during class to try to prepare myself for what was to come. I wondered how the others were making out and hoped they would be able to remain calm.

When class ended, Angela and I stood up and headed to Trig together.

"Is everything okay? I've been worried about you since the other day. I can't believe James actually hit you. Do you know what set him off?" she asked.

Had it been anyone but Angela, I probably would've just brushed them off - but Angela had always been nice to me and tried to help make my transition to Forks High as smooth as possible. I felt that if anyone deserved some kind of explanation, it was Angela – the problem was what explanation to give her.

"Everything is fine. James is gone now so I'm okay about the whole thing. I don't know what set him off. We were having a little argument, but nothing that should have made him lose it like that. Honestly, I think it had less to do with me and more to do with Edward. I think he was trying to use me as some kind of revenge," I answered. It was the quickest version I could come up with without lying to her.

"So, are you and Edward like a couple now, or something?" she asked shyly.

I froze for a second, trying to decide how I should answer. Edward and I hadn't talked about whether or not we were going to go public. After a quick pause I realized that while he wasn't here it was just going to have to be up to me, and I wasn't up to pretending we weren't involved with each other when we were. That was too much trouble without any real benefit that I could see.

I hoped he wouldn't mind me outing us.

"We're a couple," I answered simply.

"Wow, really? You and Edward Cullen are dating. Wow, I can't believe it," she said.

I laughed at her amazement. "What can't you believe? He's just another guy, after all. It's not like he's a vampire pretending to be a high school kid or something weird like that," I joked.

"No, I know. It's just, well, he never dates anyone. In all the time I've known him, I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend. And you can believe that a _lot_ of girls here have tried to interest him – he just never pays attention to them." She paused and smiled at me before continuing, "I'm glad he chose you, though. I think you two will make a great couple."

"Thanks Angela. We've certainly had an interesting start to our relationship," I said as we entered Trig.

I had a hard time concentrating on Trig with Edward's seat sitting empty, distracting me. I wished he hadn't been suspended because I wanted to see him but, at the same time, I was glad he wasn't here. I'm not sure how calmly he would have been able to handle the gossip.

And I wasn't kidding myself into thinking that my one encounter with Tyler would be the end of it. I knew that was just my warm-up.

*****

My first actual bad encounter came from a surprising source – Jessica Stanley.

We hadn't had the chance to become close friends, but I had thought that we were at least friendly. I had thought wrong, apparently.

After Trig, Angela headed in one direction and I headed off to my History class. I was one of the first ones in the room so I took my seat and enjoyed the rare moment of quiet. I should have known it wouldn't last long.

Jessica filed in and headed right towards me. She sat down in the chair next to me and I knew from the look on her face that something was coming; something bad. Her eyes were little slits and her whole face seemed tense. I wondered briefly if she was angry at me but, for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything I had done to her.

"So," she began, "I heard you were fucking James and giving Dr. Cullen blow-jobs after school all the while trying to seduce Edward into your bed. I had no idea you were such a little slut, Bella. I would never have invited you into my group of friends if I had known you were spreading your legs for anyone who even showed half an interest in you, and in Edward's case, none at all."

I was so shocked about hearing the bit about Dr. Cullen that for a full thirty seconds I could do nothing but stare at Jessica, open mouthed. I mean, Carlisle? _Really_?

My inability to get my brain into gear again had left Jessica with an opening to continue her little diatribe.

"And, for your information, you little tramp, Edward has absolutely no interest in you. _Everyone_ knows he's been chasing after me for years. If you think for one second he'll even look twice at you, yet alone sleep with you, you're kidding yourself. He might as well wrap himself up in a little ribbon and bow for me, he's that infatuated with me. I might just unwrap that little bow now and let him finally have what he's always wanted – me," she finished.

And _that_ was exactly what I needed to jumpstart both my brain and my mouth.

I leaned in real close to her and let myself smile. It wasn't a particularly nice smile.

"I'm sorry, Jessica. I had no idea you were stupid enough to fall for any little rumor that floats on by you. But, now that I know you are, let me just set you to right. I wouldn't touch James with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole - he's a disgusting waste of space. Dr. Cullen, Carlisle, would never do anything that is even remotely close to cheating on Esme – which anyone who spent more than five minutes with them would know. I would _never_ try to give him a blow-job or any other kind of sexual favor. I have too much respect for Esme and myself for something like that," I said.

I paused to take a breath. I was just coming up to the best part.

"And Edward? If he's so infatuated with you, he has a funny way of showing it, what with asking me to be his girlfriend and all. You are in some serious self-denial if you think he's pined away for you for years. And you obviously don't know him, at all, if you think that he would spend years thinking about you without acting on it – that is just not Edward. I'm not a slut, not even close. Unlike some people, I won't mention, I have enough respect for myself to not have to sleep around to feel good about myself."

"I'm not going to bother warning you away from _my_ boyfriend, because I know I don't need to. I absolutely know how he feels about me and I know I don't have to worry about the Jessica Stanley's of the world. And maybe next time you feel like throwing rocks around at people you should look around at your little glass house to see how sturdy it is. Now, pick up your shit and move to a different seat, this one is taken. And Jessica? Do be a doll and let any of your little friends know that they should think long and hard before coming up to me with ridiculous stories – I might be tempted to share some of the ones I've heard, after all," and with that I turned away from her, dismissing her.

The class sat staring at us, completely shocked. I had meant to keep our little exchange between ourselves, but my voice must have risen as I got into it, grabbing the attention of those around us. I looked around to see a couple of people with smiles on their faces, and a few brave ones even clapped, but for the most part everyone was trying to avoid catching Jessica's eye.

Jessica stood up and stormed over to a seat in the corner of the classroom. I didn't kid myself into thinking that this was over, but whatever drama came from this little incident, it was worth it to give Jessica a piece of my mind. I can't believe I had once thought of her as a friend. At least I had the chance to find out early that she wasn't worth the effort.

I was still seeing red when class started and I spent most of the time just trying to reign in my temper. For all that I told the others about staying calm, I lost my cool with only the second person to approach me with a rumor. I wouldn't have taken it back even if I could have, though.

*****

Lunch couldn't come fast enough. Though Jessica Stanley was definitely the worst of my encounters, she was not the last of them. By the time I stepped into the cafeteria I was emotionally drained, physically exhausted and disgusted by the absolute crap my classmates were willing to believe. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't known I had lunch with the Cullen's to look forward to.

I went and sat down at the Cullen's usual table, which I guess has become my usual table now, and waited for the others to join me. They showed up one by one – Alice first, followed by Rose then Jasper and finally, Em.

They all looked as harassed as I felt.

I was just about to ask how their days were going when I was interrupted by the approach of Angela and Ben Cheney, who was trailing along behind her with what I could only describe as a look of determination on his face.

"Hey guys, sorry to bother you but do you mind if we sit with you today?" Angela asked quietly.

I could see that the others were a little startled; I knew it had been a while since anyone other than me had willingly sat with them at lunch. They all turned to me as if I would supply them with the magical answer.

Well, I didn't know what they wanted me to say – but I did know it had cost Angela and Ben a lot to approach us like this, today of all days, and I wasn't willing to leave them hanging.

"Sure," I answered. "There's plenty of room for you guys. Here, sit, Em will move over some for you. Em, pick your chin up off the ground and make some room."

It didn't take us long to get resettled, after which, we all looked expectantly at Angela and Ben. I wasn't going to demand an explanation or anything, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give them the opportunity to provide one, if they were inclined to do so.

Sure enough, Angela stepped up.

"Thanks guys. We talked it over and decided that after everything that's been going on, we'd just rather sit here than with anyone else," she explained.

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I was learning all about who my real friends were today, and I was happy to see that Angela was among them.

"Thanks Angela. Thanks Ben. This means a lot to me," I answered.

"Where was this little showing of solidarity when the rest of us were at the center of a storm of gossip?" Emmett mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for them to hear him.

Both Angela and Ben turned bright red, obviously embarrassed by the fact that the last time the Cullen's' were ostracized by the school, no one, not even them, had bothered standing up for them.

I was sure that now wasn't the time or place to upbraid them for their behavior of something that had happened more than a year ago, but as I hadn't been one of the ones left hanging the last time, it wasn't my place to say so.

Luckily, Alice seemed to agree with me as she kicked Emmett under the table.

"Ow! What the hell was that for, Alice?" he yelled.

"That's water under the bridge, Em. They're here now, that's all that matters," Alice said.

"No, it's all right, Alice. He's right; you guys have a right to ask. Emmett, I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough last time to stand up for you guys. But, honestly, you guys pretty much ruled the school and I was just a nobody. I couldn't see how I'd be any help when nobody really even knew who I was. That's no excuse, though, and I'm sorry," she explained.

"It was the same for me, as well," Ben finally chimed in.

Emmett got a little red in the face and I knew he was feeling a little embarrassed that he had asked. But it seemed to help Ben and Angela become a part of our little group faster. I could see everyone's faces clear a little – even Rose's, who I knew would be the hardest for them to win over.

"Apology unneeded, but accepted. Thank you," Alice said.

I finally took a bite of my sandwich as I looked around the cafeteria, trying to gauge how Angela and Ben's sitting with us was going over. I noticed right away that there were more than a few dirty looks coming from Jessica's table.

I hoped that they hadn't brought trouble down on themselves by sitting with us, but knew I couldn't do anything about that now. They made their choice and I had to give them credit enough to assume that they had known what they were doing when they had done so.

"So, Bells," Em cut into my thoughts, "heard you and Stanley had a real throw-down-knock-em-out today."

I rolled my eyes at him. Before I could formulate an answer, he went on.

"I heard, in fact, that you kicked Stanley's ass – or at least verbally, anyway," he said.

"I wouldn't put it like that, but I did have a few choice words with her," I answered.

"Oh, do tell," Alice jumped in, excitedly.

When I was done explaining my little encounter with Jessica I could see that everyone was having mixed emotions. They didn't seem to know whether to be really angry at Jessica or to laugh at my little encounter. It seemed as though they were opting for a little of both.

"It's about time someone knocked her off of her little pedestal. I hate that fake bitch. I can't believe how many people fall for her little Miss Perfect act," Rose finally said.

"I had for a while, but she's shown her true colors today. I'm just glad she did so before I wasted any more time on her," I said.

"You sound like you're okay with it, though. I thought you'd be more upset, especially since you thought she was a friend," this from Alice.

"I would have, if I didn't have you guys. I can handle any of this easily if I know I have true friends around me to help me through it," I explained to her.

Her answering smile lit up her face. I knew I wasn't the only one grateful for our friendship. I was as important to the Cullen's as they were to me.

"Okay, enough sappy stuff, we have more interesting things to do. Let's compare notes. Who heard what, today?" Rose asked, a wicked grin crossing her face. I could see that she was going to enjoy this.

Everyone else looked at me uncomfortably, embarrassed to tell me what they had heard about me.

"It's all right, guys. I mean, nothing could be worse than what I, myself, heard from Jessica. Let's hear it," I reassured them.

"Let's see," Emmett began. "I heard that you were going to run off with James and at the last minute, backed out to be with Edward. I heard all the ones from yesterday, again. But my favorite one so far, today, has you as James' future step-mother after you planned to run off and elope with his father – Edward just happened to be the poor sap you caught in your trap before you snared the very rich Mr. Black."

"Eww. Why? _Why_ is everyone insisting on having me hooked up with people's fathers! What about me says I sleep with older men? Huh? Geeze, that's gross," I ranted as Em neglected to hold back his laughter.

"Oh, Bells," Em teased. "Just face it; you're our little femme fatale."

I gave him the dirtiest look I could drum up and knew that one day I would get him back for enjoying this so much, if it was the last thing I ever did.

The rest of lunch was spent comparing ridiculous rumors we had heard – my favorite had me as a Russian spy sent to steal secrets from Mr. Black's company with James as my pawn to do so – and trying to fortify ourselves for the afternoon.

I knew that today had to be the worst, so if we survived this it would only get easier; and I figured we weren't doing half bad, so far.

I was glad to see Angela and Ben fit in with our little group with ease. Angela seemed to be coming out of her shell and I wondered if Ben had something to do with that. I caught them holding hands under the table, at least once. I didn't know if they would ever be as close to the rest of us as we were to each other – after all, the Cullen's had some secrets they had to protect – but I knew today had gone a long way towards starting new friendships.

As the bell rang and we gathered our stuff to head to our next classes, my mind once again went to Edward. I had to admit to myself that I desperately missed him and couldn't wait till the end of the day when I'd get to see him again. I wondered if he had missed me at all. I was definitely hoping he had.

I still wasn't sure whether or not my feelings for him were love, but I figured when the time was right, I'd know.

I headed out the cafeteria door, turning to wave bye to everyone, when I remembered that Edward and I would most likely have another piano lesson today. Before I could stop myself, I found myself doing a little skip of excitement, as if I were a six year old.

I rolled my eyes at my ridiculous behavior, but couldn't stop the slow smile from spreading across my face.

As I turned into my next class and took my seat, I found myself hoping whole heartedly that today's piano lesson would prove as interesting as yesterday's. With the smile still on my face, I decided that if I had any say in the matter, it would be even more so. I couldn't wait.

I hoped Edward had an idea of what to expect, and then at the last minute I changed my mind. Let him be caught off guard – after all, I'd have a better chance of success that way.

Poor boy – he had no idea yet what he was in for.

*********************************************

**A/N:**

_h__mmm, I wonder what the next chapter will focus on? Anyone have any ideas? lol_

_Big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Thanks for keeping me motivated.  
_

_And, as usual, I'd appreciate any reviews you might send my way this go around, as well. I love to hear from my readers. ;o)_

_Once again, go check out _Growing Pains_ by Delia53. It's a lot of fun and isn't getting the attention it deserves. So be kind, review. _

_oh, okay. So, a lot of you haven't actually noticed this, but there are little tiny movie references scattered all throughout this story. It's usually just about a line or so, but they're there. There's one in today's chapter and if you love Christmas as much as I do, or at least Christmas related cartoons, you should pick up on it pretty easily. I'm not giving any hints about the previous ones besides saying there's at least one from Clueless, Troop Beverly Hills (lol), The Big Lebowski, High Fidelity, The Sandlot, and more than a few others that I can't think of right now lol...maybe one from The Princess Bride, as well, but I can't remember if that one made it past the cutting room floor or not. lol. Don't bother trying to find any of them, if they didn't jump out at you they probably won't, but keep your eyes open for future ones.  
_

_Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks again to all! _

_Next chapter will be out soon-ish. ;o)_

_P.S. - Hi to my HT Ladies reading this! ;op_


	38. Chapter 38

**Twilight belongs to S. Meyer. **

**A/N:**

_Hey guys :o) _

_So not much to say in this A/N...most of it will come later. Instead of going on and on about absolutely nothing, I'll simply say thanks for reading and hope you like this one!_

_******************************************  
_

**Edward**

I roamed aimlessly around the house, trying to walk off my frustration. For like the thousandth time I checked my cell, making sure I hadn't missed the call. I didn't know how I could have, seeing as the phone hadn't left my side all morning, but I wanted to be sure.

I was waiting for a call from Emmett, who was supposed to be giving me an update on how hard of a time Bella was having at school. When I'd made Emmett promise to keep me informed, I had figured he'd be checking in with me earlier. I knew from looking at the time that they were already at lunch and I was pissed that he'd made me wait this long. I wanted to know that she was okay.

I could have called her myself to find out how she was doing, but I was trying to show her that I had faith in her ability to take care of herself. I did, but I also wanted to know that she wasn't being put through hell. I was tempted to call Em but I knew he'd be sitting with Bella and I didn't exactly trust him to be able to talk without giving himself away. My brother had absolutely no skills at deceit; well, not unless it was to get himself out of trouble.

Finally, I couldn't take the aimless pacing any longer so I headed in to Esme's office. Her door was open so I gently knocked on the frame, stepping in when she acknowledged me.

"Hey, Edward. Everything okay," she asked.

"Everything's fine. I'm going out of my mind with boredom but, other than that, I'm good."

"Why don't you find something to do? Read a book or something."

"I can't. I'm too distracted."

She stared at me, a slight smile on her face. "You're worried about Bella, aren't you," she asked.

I blew out a breath but knew there was no point in denying it. "I am," I answered.

"You shouldn't be. Bella is a strong, very intelligent girl who is able to take care of herself. She won't face anything today that she can't handle, and she'll have the others around her should she need any help. She'll be fine, Edward. But, I am glad that you care enough about her to worry. It's good to see you happy and involved with someone. I'd been worrying about you, lately."

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that I was kind of crazy with loneliness and the worst part was I hadn't even really realized it. I thought my loneliness was boredom. Having met Bella, I realize now what my life had been missing."

The conversation was an awkward one for me; I was used to keeping things to myself. If I needed to share, it was usually with either Alice or Emmett; and more and more I wasn't even doing that. I only now realized that the happier they were with Jasper and Rose, the more I pulled away. I loved knowing they were both happy and in love but at the same time, it had only increased my loneliness.

"Well, at least you've found someone to make you happy, which, in turn, makes me happy," Esme said. And I knew she was being honest. Her children's happiness made her happy. She was one of the most selfless people I knew.

I decided it was time to move on to the reason I was in her office in the first place, besides providing myself with a distraction, that is.

"So, uh, it looks like I'll be taking Bella to the charity Gala, if it's not too late to get her a ticket," I half stated, half asked.

"I figured you would. I've actually already gotten her a ticket. I was afraid that if I didn't, there might not be any left by the time you got around to asking her."

"When did you get it," I asked, already knowing the answer; it was there clear as day within her thoughts.

"When I got everyone else's tickets; about two weeks ago," she said.

I stared at her in bewilderment. Two weeks ago I was still doing my best to avoid Bella. I hadn't even admitted to myself that I had feelings for her, yet alone shared those feelings with anyone. I knew that Esme was usually very intuitive, but this was impressive even for her.

"How'd you know? What made you think I would ask her when I was avoiding her at all costs," I asked, unable to keep the astonishment out of my voice.

"I think it was because you _were _so thoroughly avoiding her. That and whenever she was in the room your attention was completely focused on her. You did a good job of hiding it, maybe even from yourself, but your eyes would follow her every time she'd move. I could see that there was some innate attraction between the two of you, even if neither of you was willing to admit it yet. I figured, eventually, one of you would come around and admit their feelings to the other. I got the extra ticket in anticipation of that; I knew there was a chance you wouldn't get together in time but I figured that it was better to have an extra ticket than be short a ticket," she explained.

As close as I was with Esme and even with my little ability, it was good to know that she could still surprise me occasionally. I smiled at her and walked over and gave her a quick hug, both surprised and grateful that she understood me so well.

"Thank you, Esme," I said. I knew she'd be able to pick out the emotions behind those simple words.

When I stepped out of the hug my phone rang. I grabbed it out of my pocket and checked the caller ID; it was Emmett. I signaled to Esme that I was stepping out to answer the call and she gave me a little smile and waved me off.

I answered the phone as I closed the door to Esme's office. "What took you so damned long to call me," I growled at Emmett, skipping over any greetings.

"Relax, brother; I was busy," Emmett answered, the smile in his voice coming through over the phone.

"Bastard. You made me wait on purpose, didn't you? I swear Em, if you weren't my brother I'd kick your ass so hard even those sparkly gay vampires from that movie Rose loves wouldn't want you when I was through. Actually, I still might kick your ass, brother or not."

"Ha! You could try, Cullen, but you haven't managed to kick my ass yet and I doubt today will be the day you start. And besides, we both know the gay vampires would prefer your sweet ass to my more rugged one any day. Now, do you want an update before I head to class or are you too busy trying to make yourself feel like a man by threatening your older, stronger brother? Come on, dawg, you can't hang with the big boys, so don't even try."

I took a deep breath and counted to three to try to keep control of my temper. I knew he was just trying to bait me so that I'd lose my temper and waste the phone call yelling at him. He probably hated spying on Bella but I didn't care, I wanted to know everything was all right there.

"If you care about my sanity at all Emmett you'll tell me what's been happening there and how Bella is. Now, damn it, cut the shit and give me an update."

Emmett was quiet for a second and I knew I'd caught him off guard by not giving in to my temper. I could hear people talking in the background, laughing and goofing off, and knew he was in the hallway walking to class.

Finally, after a beat, he answered. "No worries, Edward; she's fine. I was nervous about her for like three seconds this morning, but our little Miss Swan has really come into her own today. There's nothing happening here that she hasn't been able to handle. She even had a confrontation with that bitch Stanley and came out the winner. I'm pretty sure Jessica will be giving her a wide berth for a good long while now."

"But Bella's okay," I asked.

"Well, she doesn't need you sitting at home freaking out worrying about her like a little girl, that's for sure. She's got this. I know you're intentions are good, but you need to relax and trust both her and us. We're not gonna just sit back and let people make her miserable. She's family and we're gonna watch over her like family. Now go distract yourself. Make a milkshake and watch some porn or something. I gotta go," he said as he hung up on me.

I stared at the phone for a minute in exasperation. Only Emmett would think to suggest distracting myself by making a milkshake and watching porn. Who does that sort of thing? I guess I had my answer; Emmett did.

I knew he was right, though. I needed to distract myself so that I wouldn't lose my mind before the day was over.

I paced around the house some more before eventually heading outside to my rock. When nothing seemed to help I finally gave up and headed back inside to the music room. I wanted to work on a song I was composing, anyway.

**********

I was so focused on my music that I missed hearing their cars pull into the driveway. I hadn't realized that they were home until I felt a hand lightly touch my shoulder. I smiled to myself but kept playing my song; it was written for her anyway and I wanted her to hear it.

Her hand ran over my back as she walked behind me. She stepped away only to slide in next to me on the bench. I knew without having to ask that we were alone in the music room and that she had closed the door as she had come in. I could feel the intensity of our attraction as it sizzled between us, distracting me from the music. My desire for Bella to hear her song was the only thing keeping me playing.

She sat silently as I stroked the keys; her body lightly leaning into mine. As I played I could feel the tension from the day melting away from my body. She was here and she was safe, I could finally relax.

I knew it should scare me how much her safety and happiness meant to me. I knew our relationship wasn't a normal one. I knew we'd fallen too hard and too fast; but I couldn't bring myself to care. I didn't know what the future held for us - whether this was a fleeting moment of happiness or just the beginning for us - but I determined that I wouldn't worry about any of that. I would enjoy what we had in this moment, and every moment we managed to share together.

As my fingers slid across the keys hitting the last notes of the song, I focused my attention on the woman next to me. She was lost in her own thoughts, the smile touching her lips a distracted one. Finally, she gave her head a little shake and I watched as whatever had occupied her thoughts slipped away.

"That was a beautiful song," she said. "What's it about?"

"It's called 'Isabella's Sonata' and I wrote it for and about you," I answered honestly.

I watched as her eyes searched mine and I knew she was trying to decide if I was joking with her or being honest. I held her gaze, letting her read the seriousness in my eyes.

"It's really about me," she asked.

"It is."

"Will you tell me about it? Tell me what it's supposed to mean?"

"Well, each movement is supposed to represent a different version of you, as I've seen you so far. I guess you could say that it's chronicling you through my eyes, from when we first met," I explained.

"The first movement represents you when I first met you. I didn't know what to make of you when we first met. I thought you were like any other high school girl I'd encountered, flighty and shallow. The more I paid attention, though, the more I realized you were different, unique. The pull I felt towards you was overpowering and irresistible. I tried to resist it anyway, which determined our interactions with each other. You were fiery and full of passion, you were on the defensive, and you were out for blood. Like you, the first movement is full of passion and fire. There's a level of anger and pain in it. But, most of all, it hints at secrets waiting to be discovered."

As I finished talking I played the first movement for her, letting her listen for herself within it.

The first movement was loud and fast and full of energy. It was meant to represent the chaos she had sent me spiraling into with her arrival. I knew that many listening to it would mistakenly believe that the first movement was the most powerful movement of the sonata; but they'd be wrong. Certainly, it was the most energetic of the three, but the third and final movement held all of the power of the song.

When I was done playing I continued on in my explanation. "The second movement is much calmer than the first. This is where I start to really see you for who you are. This is where I start to lose my battle to stay away from you. I knew by then that you were far from shallow or flighty. You're intelligent and caring, honest and loyal. You're beautiful inside and out. Though I wasn't ready to admit it, I was already starting to fall in love with you by this point. The second movement is about honesty. I've tried to give the movement layers, without making it sound pretentious. I tried to capture your sweetness without leaving out your strength." And again, I played the second movement in the hopes of her hearing what I was talking about.

The second movement seemed almost shockingly simple after the complexity and chaos of the first movement, but its simplicity was a deception. It was full of layers and nuances that you could easily miss if you weren't paying close enough attention but, still, they were there. I had done my best to put into music everything about Bella that had captivated me and, eventually, caused me to fall in love with her.

When I was done playing I paused to consider what I would say next.

The third movement was why I wrote the sonata in the first place. I wanted to be able to express in music everything I was feeling for Bella. I had felt that the only way to do that would be to tell our entire story, not just the happily ever after bits. I wrote the first and second movements so that the third movement would have a life; so that when we got to the happily ever after the listener would appreciate the feeling behind it.

"The third movement represents you now – the you that I've finally admitted to myself that I love. You are the first person I think about when I wake up, and the last person I think about when I go to bed. Before I met you I was lonely and unhappy, now I'm full of love and am happier than I can remember ever being. You brought me that happiness. Your kindness and loyalty, your honesty and openness, your devotion to those you care about, your sense of humor, you intelligence, your fire and passion, your intensity; these are all the things that make you who you are, and all the things I've tried to capture in this last movement. Everything, including the chaos from the first movement, was worth it to get to here – to this point in time where the only thing that matters is that I have you sitting here next to me on this piano bench, curled into my side, listening to me play a song I've written about you.

Then I played her the last movement, allowing all the love and tenderness I felt towards her to infuse the music.

The first movement was energetic and chaotic. The second was both simplistic and complicated. The third and final movement was all that and more. It was the power and emotion of the song; it was the heart of the music. I closed my eyes as I played, allowing the music to take over my body and mind. Though I knew that when it came to the woman sitting next to me, my music would always fall short in bringing everything I loved about her to life. Still, I had wanted to try; I had wanted Bella to be able to hear in song how she made me feel, how much she had changed my life.

After I played the last note we sat there silently, collecting ourselves for a moment. Finally, I looked over at Bella to see a tear running down her cheek. I was instantly worried that I had somehow upset her.

"Bella, what's wrong," I asked.

She swiped at the tear before answering. "I just, I guess I just wasn't expecting any of this. I'm surprised by the turn my life has taken, surprised by you. The song was beautiful, the emotions behind it even more so. It's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and I don't know how to thank you for it."

I turned to face her more fully on the bench. "There's nothing you need to thank me for. This was just _my_ way of thanking you. You saved me from myself, and for that I owe you more than I can ever repay you. Plus, I wanted to put my feelings for you to music; I wanted to be able to share them with you like this."

My hand reached up and lightly stroked her cheek. There was a moment of tenderness that quickly became something more as our physical contact intensified the electricity between us. Our eyes locked while I struggled to keep control of myself and everything that I was feeling. I watched as a smile played across Bella's mouth, watched as she leaned into me, knew when our lips locked that I was lost. All of my good intentions went by the wayside as her mouth gently brushed against mine.

I lasted about three seconds before the need to feel her body against mine won out. My hand slid to the back of her head, ever so gently tugging on her hair, using it to try to bring her closer to me. Our kiss intensified and before I knew it I was demanding that her mouth open for me. I wanted to taste her, I wanted to devour her. When her lips separated for me it was like heaven, my tongue slid in between her teeth and found hers, lightly touching it, teasing it.

I pulled away from her to change my position, allowing myself better access to her. I moved so that I was straddling the piano bench and leaned slowly back in, giving her time to stop me if she felt like we were moving too fast, if she wanted to pull away. When she didn't, my mouth found hers again, picking up where we had only seconds ago left off.

It was perfection. I couldn't remember anything that felt as good as Bella Swan's mouth felt to me. It was like she was made for me, in every way. And all I could think about was how much more I wanted.

Without breaking our kiss I wrapped my hands around her waist and shifted her so that she was facing me even more. Then I grabbed her leg and lifted it over the bench, so it straddled both the bench and my right leg. And, though I knew it would only bring me a world of frustration, I grabbed her other leg and shifted it over mine; my hands went back to her waist and lifted her up and pulled her to my body. I was now straddling the bench while Bella straddled me.

I waited to see what her reaction would be and when she didn't break from our kiss I brought my hands up to cup her face, my thumbs light rubbing the soft spot below her ears. I nipped on her lower lip and was surprised to hear a soft laugh come from her. I pulled back to look at her face only to have Bella lean back into me, finding my mouth again with her own. She sucked gently on my lower lip and I heard a moan, realizing that it must have come from me.

A quiet giggle escaped her and I knew she had enjoyed my reaction. Deciding that I wanted an equal reaction from her, I went off in search of it. My lips slowly traced a path to her ear, pausing only to admire the spot where her chin and neck met, my left hand entangled within her hair. When I had reached my destination I smiled slightly before gently nibbling on her ear lobe, my tongue lightly teasing what I knew was most likely a sensitive area. Her quiet moan, though not unexpected, was music to my ears. As my mouth retraced its path back to her mouth I allowed myself my own little laugh, feeling slightly victorious and completely male.

Bella answered my laugh with a little smile and I knew that she had understood my need to chase down her answering moan; knew that she had understood that my pride would demand that she answer my moan with one of her own. My base male instincts had kicked in and I wasn't thinking like myself; my primitive dormant side seemed to be taking control of my usually rational mind.

Her mouth opened for me again and our tongues found each other's. After only a moment I deepened the kiss, the electricity between us sparking, reaching a whole new level. Bella's hands traveled up my chest, settling on my neck, her fingers lightly caressing the hair at the back of my neck. I moaned again in pleasure, knowing in that moment that all was lost.

I didn't care that we were in my parents' house. I didn't care that the music room door didn't have a lock on it and that anyone could burst in on us at any moment. I couldn't even bring myself to care that Esme had trusted me to behave myself with Bella while under her roof. In that moment all I cared about was possessing every inch of Bella.

I wanted to know what she felt like inside and out. I wanted to know her taste. God help me, I wanted to brand her as my own; even though I knew how stalkerish that sounded, I didn't care. I wanted her to be mine and I wanted to give myself to her, completely.

My left hand stayed entangled in her hair while my right hand traveled down to her waist, slipping under her shirt. My hand on her bare stomach, fingers splayed, I paused to give her a moment to voice any objections. When none came I slowly ran my fingers along her stomach, lightly caressing her. I waited until she was completely relaxed under my touch and worked my way up, holding my breath in fear of her stopping me before I reached my goal. The fear was unwarranted, though, as my fingers reached the lower edge of her bra.

I couldn't believe what I was about to do. Even as I was shocked at my own behavior, I knew I was going to do it anyway; I was past the point of gentlemanly behavior. My thumb slid hesitantly upwards, my nerves a wreck even as that primitive part of me yelled 'Yes, yes, YES!' loudly within my brain.

Finally my thumb found its destination and, heart pounding loudly within my chest, softly caressed her nipple through the lace of her bra. Her breath caught and time stood still while I waited for her reaction. When I felt her exhale again, I knew she was okay with what we were doing. She never broke from our kiss and so my thumb continued its exploration. Her body melted into mine and I was having trouble distinguishing where I ended and she began. Before I could stop myself, and unsure if I would have even if I could have, my hand gently cupped her breast. An involuntary moan escaped my mouth and I knew beyond a doubt that it would be hard to top this moment in terms of absolute perfection.

Bella broke from our kiss and leaned her head back, an utterly seductive moan escaping her mouth. I leaned forward, entertaining myself by trailing soft kisses up her neck while her mouth was occupied out of reach. Slowly she raised her head and my mouth went after hers again.

I felt my left hand slide out of her hair and knew where it was heading, though it seemed to have a will of its own. I felt it travel down her back, making its way around her waist and around to the front of her jeans. I was amazed at its audacity as it unabashedly and unhesitatingly popped the button open on the top of her jeans. I was shocked to know that my rogue hand had plans of unzipping those very same jeans and exploring the secrets held within them. And I knew beyond a doubt that that's exactly what that hand would have done if my brother Emmett hadn't chosen that exact second to throw the door to the music room open and barge in on us.

"All right you horndogs," he called out as he entered. "That's enough with the hanky panky. Our patience has run out with all this waiting."

As Bella jumped in shock and hopped off of my lap in embarrassment, righting her clothes quickly in the process, I silently cursed my brother for his ill-timed interruption, even as I knew it was probably for the best. Though my body wanted more than anything to continue on as we were, I wasn't sure that either of us was emotionally ready for where we had been heading. Though I almost hated him in that moment for stopping us, on some level I realized my brother's timing had been perfect.

Still, I wouldn't be thanking him anytime soon.

I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself in the process. I knew I would need more than a moment to do so – probably a cold shower or two...or three, would be more helpful. I closed my eyes and silently prayed that I'd be able to get through the next conversation without taking my frustration out on my brother and doing something stupid like killing him or something.

Finally, I felt composed enough to look up at him and was just in time to catch the look of surprise still evident on his face. Despite his teasing as he barged in, I knew he hadn't known what he was bursting in on; he probably assumed he was interrupting us discussing the day's events. The embarrassment apparent on his face as he took in Bella's disarray and my state of frustration almost made me forgive him for his interruption. Almost.

His face cleared as he felt my stare. He met my eyes and I could see the smile within them. We had caught him off guard but that hadn't stopped him from finding the humor in the situation. I shouldn't have expected anything less from Em.

"What's up," I asked to break the awkward silence that had been growing.

"uh, we all just, uh. Look, sorry I burst in on your little moment. Ummm. Yeah, okay. So, we thought you'd like to join us in the game room but I'm thinking now, maybe not.

I looked over at Bella and could tell that she was still embarrassed. Not only did I have no expectations for continuing on as we had been, I felt that it would probably be easier for her to join the others now, to get over her embarrassment quicker.

"I think we'll join you guys, just give us a minute and we'll meet you in there," I said.

Em silently nodded his head before stepping back out of the room, the smile spreading from his eyes to his mouth as he did so. I knew it would be a long while before I heard the last about this.

"Bella," I said, trying to get her attention.

She looked up expectantly as I patted the bench next to me, silently asking her to come over and sit beside me. She hesitated and I knew she was considering the wisdom of joining me on the bench. Finally, her mind apparently made up, she walked over to me and sat down.

"Are you okay with all of this," I asked, my hands pointing back and forth between us, trying to make her understand I was talking about everything that had just passed between the two of us.

As she nodded her head yes, I exhaled the breath I hadn't even known I'd been holding. Though I knew she'd been with me every step of the way, I needed to know that when the moment was gone she had no regrets.

"All right, Minx, I want you to promise me that you won't be embarrassed when we join my family in the game room," I said.

"Edward, there is no way I'm going to be able to stop myself from being embarrassed. Emmett, of all people, just walked in on us making out, with your hand very obviously up my shirt. Are you not embarrassed about that," she asked.

"No, not at all. I'm physically frustrated right now, I'm annoyed at my brother for interrupting us, I'm surprised by the intensity of what just happened between us; embarrassment is just not on my list of things I'm feeling right now. If I could spend every moment loving you like this, I would. That was just, well…it was perfection. There isn't a better word for what that just felt like for me; perfection. I'm not going to feel embarrassed over that, and I don't want you to either."

"I'm not embarrassed over what just happened between us, just embarrassed over the others knowing about it."

"Just think of it as a physical expression of our feelings for each other. I think they're already pretty aware of the intensity of the feelings we have for each other, so walking in on us expressing those emotions physically shouldn't be a big deal. Plus, my brother needs to learn how to knock on a door before barging in. If he didn't want to see it he shouldn't have walked in like that," I tried to reassure her.

She smiled and shook her head at me. "I'm still going to be embarrassed, but thanks for trying. I just think I need to go in there and get this over with so I can forget about it and move on."

"Forget about it," I asked, teasingly.

"Well, not about all of it, just the part where Emmett walked in on us with your hand up my shirt," she said with a slight blush in her cheeks.

"I'm glad to know you wouldn't forget it all. I know that there's no way I ever could. The way you felt, your taste, both will be seared into my brain from this day forth, I'm sure; and I wouldn't have it any other way."

I took her hand as I leaned in to kiss her, keeping this one gentle and light. I didn't think we were ready for a repeat experience quiet yet. I sighed as I pulled away, wishing that the two of us could spend the rest of the afternoon alone in our own little world, here in the music room. I knew the others' patience for us had probably run out by now, though, and figured we should probably join them before they came looking for us again.

As I was about to get up I realized we had never gotten around to Bella's piano lesson today, and I offered her a little apology for having to skip it.

"Why are you apologizing? Maybe it wasn't traditional, but I definitely had my music lesson today. And, I have to say, I enjoyed today's lesson more than yesterday's," she teased.

I smiled at her as I grabbed her hand to pull her up with me. "Well, I'm glad I managed to satisfy you today. A teacher always wants to leave his student happy."

She blushed again and I laughed, loving seeing her reactions to my teasing.

As we stood up I pulled her body to mine, running my hand from her forehead down through her hair as she stared up at me, waiting to see what I intended. I held us still for a moment, relishing the feeling of her body along mine.

As I looked down at the woman I had fallen so deeply in love with I couldn't stop myself from thinking again about how lucky I was to have met her…how lucky I was to have won her, especially after being such an ass to her. I couldn't imagine what my life would have been like continuing on without her – I didn't want to even have to imagine it. Though we'd only been together a short time, already she was everything to me. I was completely satisfied with my love for her, even though, as yet, that love was unreturned; at least verbally.

She hadn't said she loved me, yet. I knew she wasn't ready, knew she was still working through her feelings for me. But I was sure that she felt as strongly for me as I felt for her, even if she wasn't ready to admit it. I was content to wait, feeling confident that she would one day be able to voice her feelings for me…that if she didn't love me yet, she possibly would one day. I was willing to wait for that day.

I leaned down and lightly placed a kiss on the tip of her nose before stepping away from her, my hand finding hers as I did, locking our fingers together.

"Come on, Minx. We have all the time in the world for us, let's go find my family before Emmett exaggerates the story I'm sure he's sharing with the others until we have something to really feel embarrassed over. Lord knows what he's telling them."

She laughed and squeezed my hand as we headed out to find the others. As we walked out of the room I turned back to look at the piano and its bench.

I knew that I would never be able to look at that bench the same way again. I felt sure that I would feel excited and frustrated every time I sat down on it. Playing my piano would probably never feel the same for me again as memories of this afternoon will probably tease at me every time I sat down to play.

I found myself smiling as I thought about it. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that even if playing never felt the same again from this point on it would be so worth it. Nothing, _nothing_, would be able to top the experiences I had had with Bella here today. Nothing.

Well, okay, I thought to myself, maybe _one_ thing would…

* * *

**A/N:**

_Well, I hope you liked it. This was a pretty intense one for me to write. I hope it was worth the wait. I need to thank my friend Gina, who read this over for me late last night to reassure me that the whole kissing scene wasn't awkward and horrible. Thanks Gina! :o)_

_I would love any reviews you might send my way...which would totally help cheer me up. Why do I need cheering up you ask? Well, because my computer died this week and with it the epilogue of this story that I had written months ago. It was my favorite chapter of this story and it's completely gone. *sigh* On the positive side, one of the reasons I was procrastinating so much on this story was that my last chapter for it was at home on my computer where I was not. I was updating slowly in the hopes of getting home again before I had reached the end. I guess I don't have to worry about that now, so hopefully you'll see updates quicker. I put this particular chapter off for so long because I HATE writing the make-out scenes. I just feel awkward at it lol. But it's done now and I hope it was worth it in the end. _

_Lastly, my friend (AmandaCullen84) and I are working on a story together called The Edge of Twilight. I absolutely love writing this new story lol. We're only a couple of chapters in so far but we are and plan to update pretty quickly and regularly...no long waits between chapters. Anyway, I would love it if you guys would go check it out and tell us what you think! We're in that early frustrating stage where reviews are slow and you're motivated by how good you know the story could be and hoping the readers show up later for it lol. So if you have time, hop over and show some support, if you're up for it! I have it posted under this account. _

_All rightie. Thanks again guys for reading! And a big thanks for anyone who takes time out of their day to review :o) You guys rock. Until next time,_

_~TCG~_


	39. Chapter 39

**Twilight belongs to S. Meyer, as does all of her characters.**

**A/N:**

_Well, I think I mentioned last time that my computer died? If not, it died, which is why the updates did as well. I'm on a borrowed one for the moment. Not sure how long I'll have it for so don't know whether I'll be able to get any more updates in or not, but I'll try._

_Anyway, as usual, thanks for reading. Here's the newest installment. _

* * *

**Bella**

I knew when I heard the doorbell ring who would be standing outside waiting and, sure enough, when I opened the door I was met with Edward's smiling face. He'd called earlier to offer to drive me to school, now that he was off suspension, and I had shyly accepted. I was still getting used to this whole having a boyfriend thing, and all the perks that came with it.

He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss, making my heart rate speed up. It was unfair how much that man affected me – one little kiss shouldn't cause my heart to pound like this. I half hoped that one day he wouldn't affect me so, and half hoped he always would.

I stepped back, signaling that he should come inside. "I'm running a little late, do you mind waitinga minute or two while I get my stuff together," I asked.

"I'd have been surprised to find that you weren't a little late; living with Rose and Alice has made me realize that continuously running late is just one of those girl things," he answered.

I hit him playfully on the arm, rolling my eyes at him before I walked into the kitchen to finish getting my stuff together. As I walked, I spoke over my shoulder to him. "Edward, the only reason I'm running late is because someone kept me on the phone talking all morning even though he was coming right over to pick me up. If anyone was displaying typical girl behavior today, I'd say it had to have been you."

"I really think it was you keeping me on the phone, and not the other way around. You were the one going on and on about what you were doing, what you were making for breakfast, and even what Charlie was doing."

I snorted at him before disputing his claim. "That's only because you kept asking me what I was doing. 'What are you doing now? Oh, you're making breakfast? What are you having? You know, cereal isn't exactly a balanced breakfast…blah, blah, blah.' I never knew you were so chatty."

"If that's how you want to remember it, who am I to contradict you? But I would strongly suggest you get my dad to look you over as your short term memory seems to be on the fritz," he said, the laughter in his voice evident in every word.

"I swear, you're getting to be as big of a pain in my butt as Emmett is. Who knew you two were so alike? Someone should have warned me of this before I agreed to go out with you; I'm not sure I can handle dating Emmett Jr., after all."

He must have been sneaking up behind me as I spoke because suddenly his arms were wrapped around my waist and, before I even registered what was going on, he had my body firmly pressed back against his.

"Oh, believe me," he whispered against my ear, "I'm no Emmett. After all, if Emmett was here he'd be searching your kitchen for food right now. And, while I openly admit that I'm ravenous, it's not food that I'm hungry for."

My breath caught in my throat as his meaning sunk in. I knew, without seeing it, that a blush had spread across my cheeks but the heat of his words took away any embarrassment I might have been feeling. Instead, a little moan escaped my mouth as I felt his body, _all_ of his body, pressed firmly against mine, while his words ignited a fire within me.

A light chuckle told me that he knew exactly what kind of reaction I was having and was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing to me. And, while I was enjoying it as well, I knew that if we continued on in this vein much longer we'd either be late for school or miss it all together. With that in mind, I steeled myself for the loss of contact and stepped out of his embrace. He sighed as I pulled away but released me instantly.

"It's your first day back from your suspension," I explained, "I don't want you to be late and end up in trouble again. You've gotten in enough trouble because of me, let's not add to it."

"I got in trouble because of James, not because of you. If he wasn't such a psychotic asshole who thought it was okay to hit you, I wouldn't have had to kick the shit out of him. That is in no way your fault. Though, I'd gladly get in trouble for you any day, Minx," he said, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

I laughed at his playfulness, enjoying this side of Edward, a side that had only recently come out. He was so different now from the man I'd first met. That man, I thought was a deranged ass. This man, the man who playfully flirted with me every chance he got, this man took my breath away.

"Just not today," I laughed. "Come on, I'm ready. Let's go before temptation gets the best of me and all of my good intentions go out the door."

"So, you admit you could be tempted, then?"

I pushed him to the door, unwilling to give him the chance to distract me, as I answered him. "Of course I could be tempted, and it wouldn't take much to do so, which I'm sure you're well aware of. Now come. If getting into trouble with Principle Dent isn't enough of a threat to get you out the door, maybe the fact that they're a man short today at the station, meaning Charlie is on patrol and could drive by the house at any time to check that we made it out of here okay, will be."

"Do you think he'd really drive by to check," he asked.

"I do," I answered.

"Did you tell him we're going out, then?"

"No, but he's definitely suspicious; especially since I told him you were taking me to school."

"Why the secret? Is there a reason you're not telling him about us?" I could hear the hurt in his voice as he asked and could only guess at what he was thinking.

"Well, first, we don't exactly have the type of relationship where we talk about boys I like or am dating. Second, though I won't lie to him about us, I'm not going to jump at telling him, either, since it'll most likely be the end of me staying over with Alice at your house. No way could I see Charlie letting me stay overnight at my boyfriend's house," I explained as we climbed into his car and pulled out of the driveway.

"But you'd be staying with Alice, your best friend, not with me. Not to mention the fact that my parents would be there and would make sure we behaved."

"Somehow I don't think that'll be enough to reassure Charlie. It's not that he wouldn't trust your parents to watch over us, I just think it would be too much to expect him to be okay with me spending the night at my boyfriend's house, no matter who I was there to see. So, for the moment, it's don't ask – don't tell."

"What if he asks you if we're together?"

"Like I said, I won't lie about us. If he asks I'll tell him the truth. I guess Alice and Rose can just crash at my house from that point on, if we want to spend the night together."

"You never know, I wouldn't put it past Alice to be able to convince Charlie to let you spend nights at our house, especially if Esme helped her out," Edward finished.

As we drove I looked out the window and thought about how weird it was, and at the same time how good it felt, to have close enough friends that I'd be worried about not being able to spend nights at their house. I was used to being a loner and now all of a sudden I had a best friend, two really close friends, an adopted brother, and a boyfriend. I felt like I'd been adopted into a ready-made family, it was a great feeling.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the school, I smiled to myself at how improved my life had become over the past few weeks. I actually looked forward to school now, instead of dreading it. I owed my new level of happiness to the Cullen's and their willingness to accept me into their folds.

The moment the car stopped, my door was yanked open. Startled, I looked up to see Emmett, with a big grin on his face, standing above me.

"About time you guys got here. We've been waiting a coon's age for you," he said as he pulled me into a big bear hug, his typical greeting for me.

"You didn't have to wait for us out here. Why didn't you just head into school and meet us at the lockers?" Edward asked.

"Meh. Parking lot - lockers, it doesn't make much of a difference to me. The point was, we were waiting for you," Em returned.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back it up there, buddy. A coon's age?" I asked Emmett, unable to let the odd vernacularism go by without comment.

"Don't mind him," Rose said as she joined us. "Every once in a while he gets it in his head that he's some kind of redneck and starts using phrases like, 'a coon's age' or 'luckier than a rabbit in a kennel full of hound dogs', which was one we heard from him earlier today. It's a phase; it'll pass."

"Yeah, hopefully before he starts wearing wifebeaters and his damn trucker hat," Alice chimed in as she came up behind Rose.

"Whatever, dudes. You're both just jealous you're not cool enough to pull off my style. Don't deny it, you wish you were more like me," Em retorted.

"Why would I want to be more like you?" Alice asked. "You can't keep your mind out of the gutter for more than three seconds, you've deluded yourself into thinking you're way hotter than you are and, to top it off, you have to shovel food into your mouth every five minutes or take the chance of getting so hungry you eat whichever unfortunate person or beast that happens to be standing near you at the time. Thanks but I'm happy being me."

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry. Let's head to my locker so I can grab a snack," Em said, ignoring everything in her diatribe that wasn't focused on food.

Alice and Rose both gave long-suffering sighs, obviously realizing that when it came to Emmett and food, there was no winning.

As we followed Em towards the school, Edward came over and grabbed my hand, entwining his fingers with mine.

"How was the ride this morning," he asked the others with an evil grin on his face.

"We made it here alive and with everyone in one piece, what more could we ask for," Alice answered.

Rose snorted at her answer. "You guys have no appreciation of my driving skills."

"I wouldn't exactly call them skills, Rose," Jasper said. "More like, impediments."

Alice and Emmett snickered before Rose shot them both dirty looks. I looked over at Edward to see his silent laughter and knew that he had enjoyed leaving the others to drive in with Rose that morning.

I caught his attention and raised my eyebrow at him, knowing he'd understand my unspoken question. He answered with a wink, letting me know he was purposefully trying to stir up trouble. I wondered if the others had ganged up on him that morning to try to convince him to just meet me at school, instead of picking me up and leaving them to drive in with Rose. Having seen her driving first hand, I can't say that I blamed them.

As we entered the school, Edward pulled my arm in so that it was around his waist before letting go of my hand and draping his arm over my shoulders. He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on my forehead, before telling the others we'd meet them at Em's locker in a few.

"Offering support or publicly claiming me," I asked as we left the others.

Edward gave a little laugh before answering. "Maybe a little of both. Is that a problem?" he asked, the tone of his voice questioning instead of challenging.

I considered it for a moment before realizing that I, myself, was having the very same urge. I wanted to let everyone know that Edward and I were together, to brand him if I could. I couldn't remember ever feeling this territorial in my life. It was a little unsettling for me.

"It's no problem. I was just curious, I guess. This is all new to me, I've never really had a boyfriend before," I answered honestly.

"And I've never really had a girlfriend, either. I've gone out on dates, but have never actually been in a relationship before. So, I guess that means we can figure out how we do all this, together, as we go along."

"You've never had a girlfriend before," I asked in disbelief. Angela had said something similar the other day, but I figured she had downplayed his past for my sake.

Looking around at all the hostile glances the girls around us were sending my way, I had a hard time believing that Edward hadn't had girls throwing themselves at him. Not many guys would be able to resist something like that.

"Nope," he answered. "Until now, there's been no one I was interested in having a relationship with."

I let that sink in as I grabbed what I would need out of my locker. With my books in hand, I closed my locker and we headed off towards Edward's.

"There wasn't a single girl at this school that managed to catch your attention?" I asked.

"Not until you showed up. You have to remember that everyone at this school pretty much abandoned me and my family when Em and Alice started dating Rose and Jasper. I haven't been feeling too warm and fuzzy towards my classmates since then."

"And before that?"

He shrugged before answering. "I don't know, no one caught my attention, I guess. What about you, no one at your old school interest you?"

I snorted at that. "I went to school with a bunch of idiots. There wasn't anyone there that I wanted to spend any time with outside of school."

Edward looked at me curiously as he grabbed the books he would need for first period. "Not even friends," he asked.

"I pretty much did my own thing. Everyone left me alone and I left them alone."

"How long were you at that school? Had you recently moved there or something?"

"I'd gone there since I was a kid. We moved to Phoenix when my mom left Charlie, but we didn't buy our house until I was in third grade. Before that, we moved around a lot," I explained.

Edward looked shocked. "So you'd gone to school there since third grade but you didn't have any friends? You must have been even lonelier than I've been. I can't imagine going that long without any friends around me."

"It wasn't so bad. I was used to, and even liked, being left alone. It was different for you – you had a lot of friends who then abandoned you. You knew what you had lost, what you were missing out on. I've never known any different until I made friends with your family. It hadn't really occurred to me until then that I might be lonely."

He hugged me as we approached Emmett's locker, where everyone was waiting for us.

"Well, I'm even more glad that Alice and Em made friends with you, then," he finished.

"What about me," Em asked, overhearing the last bit of our conversation.

"We were just talking about your disgusting eating habits," I teased. "Are you actually eating Funyuns?"

"I was hungry," he answered defensively.

"It's not even eight o'clock in the morning, Em. How can you eat anything onion based so early in the day?" I asked, completely grossed out.

"They're delicious no matter what time of day it is."

"Don't even try to explain to him how repulsive he is, Bella. We've learned his stomach pretty much overrides any good sense he might have had," Jasper said.

"It's why I buy this in bulk," Rose said as she held up a pack of Big Red gum.

I laughed at that. I'd seen Rose handing Em some gum on a couple of different occasions, but it had never occurred to me that she was trying to get rid of his bad breath from all the nasty things he ate.

Realizing we only had a few minutes before we had to head off to class, I dropped the topic of Em's stomach.

"So what's the plan for the day?" I asked.

"Survive school without any major incidents is top priority," Rose said. "I'm sure the gossip will start back up again, now that Edward is back from his suspension. We'll probably be dealing with that for the day."

"And after school," Alice cut in, pinning me with a look, "you and I are going dress shopping. I have your costume for the Gala all planned out, I just need to hunt down the perfect gown for it."

I groaned, already dreading what could, knowing Alice, turn into a very long shopping trip.

"Are you sure we have to go today," I whined, hoping I'd be able to wiggle out of going.

"Yes, Bella, we have to go today. The Gala will be here before you know it and you don't want to be stuck with some last minute dress you end up hating. We need to make sure we have time to find the perfect dress and make any alterations to it, if needed. So, we're going shopping today and I'll have no arguments from any of you."

As she finished talking she sent a glare towards Edward, already anticipating an argument from him, I guessed

"Hey, I'm not about to try to stop you from going," Edward defended himself. "She only needs the dress because of me, so I'm not going to get in the way of you finding one for her. But, Alice , try to remember that she's not like you – her life doesn't revolve around all things clothes. Please, try not to overwhelm her with shopping."

"Hey, we're looking for the perfect dress here. You can't put a time limit on perfection. But, I can promise I'll try to stay focused on the dress and not let myself get sidetracked with all the pretty sparklies," Alice promised.

"Can I come with you guys? I still need to find a pair of shoes for my costume," Rose asked.

"Of course you can, Rose. The more the merrier. We can do dinner, too, and make it a girls night out," Alice assured her.

"I have to run it by Charlie, first," I said. "Actually, I haven't even told him about the Gala, yet. Something tells me I should do that as well, while I'm at it."

"You can call him from our house, after school. We can grab a quick snack, let Esme know the plan, then head out," Rose decided.

I nodded my head in agreement. I wasn't exactly happy about having to go shopping but, I had to admit, I was looking forward to going out with Alice and Rose. This would be a new experience for me. And I knew that Rose wasn't much of a shopper, either, so I was hoping between the two of us that we'd be able to keep Alice reigned in.

We all said our goodbyes for the moment before heading off to our first classes of the day. Edward took my hand as he walked me to English class.

"Do you think Charlie will be okay with you going to the Gala with me," he asked.

"I don't see why not. I mean, your parents will be there so we'll even have chaperones. The only thing I think he'll have a problem with is Alice getting my dress for me. He won't want someone else picking up the tab on something like that."

"Let Alice worry about that part. I doubt even Charlie will be able to stand up to her for very long. She's a force to be reckoned with – especially when it comes to clothes shopping."

"If she wants to be the one to convince him, I won't try to stop her. But I'm not going to make her be the one to talk him down, either. She shouldn't be made to deal with my dad for me."

"I don't think that will be a problem," he said as we approached my class.

He gave me a quick kiss before heading off to his own class. I hoped he'd get there before the bell rang; I didn't want him in any more trouble, if at all possible.

***

"Are things settling down?" Angela asked, her voice filled with what sounded like concern. We were stopped at my locker so I could dump some stuff before heading to lunch together. "I mean, people aren't still giving you a hard time about what happened, right?" she continued.

"Well, I'm still getting some negative attention, especially now that it's becoming apparent to everyone that Edward and I are a couple, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. I'm sure I'll survive. On the positive side, Jessica is certainly keeping a wide distance between us."

The last was said with a laugh; I was getting a kick out of Jessica doing her absolute best to stay as far away from me as humanly possible. If she managed to avoid me until the day we graduated, I'd be as happy as could be. I doubted my luck would hold that long, though.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this. It doesn't seem fair that James caused all of this trouble for you, then wasn't here to face the consequences of his actions."

"Well, I'm glad he was kicked out, even if it means he isn't going through the public scrutiny the rest of us have had to undergo. But don't be sorry for me. Just look at all the positives that has come out of this; I've become better friends with you and Ben, I've learned who I can actually trust, and Edward and I are together. None of that might have happened if it wasn't for James being such a jerk."

When I finished speaking I slammed my locker shut and jumped back, startled. Leaning back on the locker next to mine, watching me with a smile on his face, was Edward.

"I'm glad I rate as one of the positives that came from this whole situation, Minx. My pride would have taken a hit if you had forgotten to list me," he teased.

I glanced over to catch a surprised look on Angela's face and assumed she was caught off guard by Edward's playfulness. That didn't slow me down from admonishing him, however.

"Don't sneak up on us like that, you big goofball. I almost shrieked, which certainly wouldn't have helped the rumor mill."

"Well hello to you, too, beautiful," was his reply.

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my face. "Have you come to flirt or walk us to lunch?" I asked playfully.

"Do I have to choose between the two?"

"Yup, and do it fast, Angela and I are busy women."

"Well, don't ever accuse me of slowing you down." As he spoke he held an arm out to both Angela and I, giving Angela a wink as he did. "Ladies, shall we?"

I laughed but took his arm. On the other side of him, I saw Angela do the same, the blush on her face obvious. I hoped she wasn't overly embarrassed.

As we walked down the hall, heads turned our way, looks of surprise evident on the faces of my classmates. I wasn't sure what they found more surprising, Edward with a girl on each arm or the fact that he was acting lighthearted.

For the first time, I started to really consider the front Edward had been presenting to the world. Though typically more serious than not, he was still playful and generally fun to be around, once you got through his defenses. Seeing the looks everyone was casting him now, I had to wonder how completely he had locked that part of himself away from the people around him.

I knew he had been hurt by the rejection of people he considered his friends, but I don't think I had understood, until this moment, what that rejection had cost him. I couldn't imagine the toll that locking part of himself away had cost him. Though he said earlier that he felt bad for me not having had any friends back home, I felt sure that he was the one who had suffered the hardest, and at the hands of people he'd thought were his friends.

As we walked, I slid my hand down his arm, clasping his hand in mine. I gave his fingers a light squeeze, smiling when he looked down at me in question. My heart broke in that moment from the pain I knew he had gone through; I only hoped I could help him heal. I knew from that moment on that I would do everything within my power to help bring the laughter out of Edward, whether we were alone or surrounded by all of those who had hurt him so.

When we entered the cafeteria I saw all the faces turned our way. I looked around to see looks of cynicism and disbelief all around us. Though the words didn't reach our ears, I could see the gossiping that had spread with our entrance. A feeling of determination came over me and I slowed down, holding Edward's hand tight as I did so.

We stopped in the middle of the cafeteria and Edward, with a look of confusion on his face, released Angela's hand and turned to face me. I watched over his shoulders as Angela headed to our table, then focused all of my attention on Edward.

Before he could question my intentions, I stood up on my toes, leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. I could feel his shock at my very public display of affection but ignored it. I cupped the sides of his face and deepened the kiss without making it indecent.

After a few moments, those around us must have gotten over their shock because we started hearing whistling and catcalls all around us. Satisfied that our kiss had been noted by the cafeteria at large, I stroked Edward's cheek, gave him one last light kiss before pulling back. Reaching up, I grabbed his hand again and headed to our table, where the looks of surprise on my friends faces were still apparent.

As we sat down, Edward turned to me, asking, "Not that I'm complaining, Minx, but what was that about?"

I could tell the others were wondering the exact same question. I considered how I could get across what I was feeling, before I answered.

"I just wanted to proclaim to the world at large, whose team I'm on from this point on. The only way I could think to do that was to kiss you silly in front of everyone. Think of it as a statement of solidarity – and one that I just guaranteed no one would miss out hearing about."

"You wanted to proclaim solidarity with me?" he asked.

I shook my head yes, causing him to ask, "Why?"

"Well, we're a team now. It's you and me. No matter what happens I'll stand with you, even if it means facing down the world. Your enemies are my enemies, your battles mine. No matter what," I emphasized the last sentence as I looked him in the eyes. I wanted to make sure that he understood my meaning, that he knew that, unlike the idiots around us, I wouldn't abandon him."

We held eye contact for a moment as he processed what I said. I waited to see how he would react, and when his eyes melted for me I knew he believed me and the informal promise I had just made him.

"That's…" he started to say before he broke off, the emotions playing across his face. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me."

I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, feeling sure that I knew exactly what my impromptu declaration had meant to him. I just hoped, in the end, it would be enough to help him move past everything he had gone through. I knew that he had already helped me to get rid of the loneliness I hadn't even known I was suffering from. If I could only return the favor, I'd be satisfied.

I looked up to see Alice staring at us with a soft smile on her face. I met her eyes and she gave me a little nod, letting me know she had approved of my public gesture. Alice loved her brother and wanted to see him happy, it made me feel better knowing she approved of my relationship with him; especially as she was my best friend.

I returned her nod before turning back to Edward, smiling to myself. Whatever came my way in the future, I was sure loneliness wasn't one of the battles I would have to face anytime soon; my new little family would make sure of that.

_****************_

**A/N:**

_Hoped you liked it. As usual, would love to hear from you all. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me despite the sometimes lengthy waits in between chapters! _


	40. Chapter 40

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

_So this is actually version two of this chapter. I killed version one - it needed to be put down for it's own sake. Don't feel bad for it, it was for its own good. There was a little memorial for it and everything - it was super sweet, wish you could have been there._

_Anyway, enough with that sillyness. You shouldn't encourage me, you should know that by now. ;op So yeah, this was my second attempt at this one - I scrapped the last one halfway through (don't you hate it when you get halfway through a chapter, only to realize it's not working? sucks). I was able to save the good bits, though, so that's happy. I will say that it's a bit long - I tried to cut it down some, but I just couldn't stand the thought of doing so after what happened to poor version one. Poor, poor, dead version one. *sigh*_

_Okay, enough about that cold, dead, irrelevant bass turd. We've moved on already v.1! Go to the light already! Anyway, for your reading pleasure, I bring you Alice v.2. Hope you like and all that yummy stuff. _

* * *

**Alice**

"We're taking Edward's car," I said, steeling myself for the argument that was about to take place.

Rose, Bella, and I were heading out to our cars, having just gotten permission from both Esme and Charlie to go to the mall for the day, when I made my little announcement. I had decided on the way home from school that my nerves just couldn't take another car ride with Rose driving – so I had confiscated Edward's car. Though I knew that both Bella and I would be happier with me driving us, Rose was going to have a fit. Still, better to deal with her fit than have to deal with her driving.

"What? Why?" she asked, her voice going up an octave.

I looked over to see Bella glancing back and forth between Rose and me with a nervous look on her face. I caught her attention and raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking if she was going to help me out on this one. She shook her head and took a little step back, her hands raised in a gesture that clearly meant she was staying out of this one. The little traitor.

I sighed loudly but decided it was too late to back out of this now. "I just feel like driving, and Edward said we could take his car. It's not a big deal, and it's not like the boys are going anywhere tonight or anything."

"It just doesn't make sense – why not just take my car? Wait. Is this because you think I'm a bad driver?"

The silence that stretched out was answer enough. I could see that Bella and I were both trying to avoid making eye contact with either Rose or each other, afraid it might set Rose off.

She snorted in disgust at us. "Look, once and for all, I am _not_ a bad driver! I passed my test on my first try, how bad could I really be?" she practically yelled at us.

"All right, Rose, all right. But, it's my shopping trip and I just want to drive. Okay? Between you and Edward, the rest of us hardly ever get to drive," I said, trying to pacify her.

"Fine. Whatever. Can we just go?"

We all climbed into Edward's car and, after adjusting all of his controls so that I could reach everything, I took off.

Like Rose, I had an intense love of driving fast cars and driving them at a breakneck speed. Unlike Rose, I was actually a good driver; which meant that while I do my fair share of speeding, you never felt like you needed to have your Last Rites read to you while I was behind the wheel.

We were silent as we drove; Bella and I giving Rose a little time to calm down, while Rose sat in the back seat and sulked. Every once in a while, I would glance in the rearview mirror, to see how she was doing. Though her pride had been hurt, I could see it wasn't going to ruin her mood for the day…I was sure that once we hit the mall she would pick back up.

I was actually surprised she had asked to come with us. In a way, I knew we were sisters as we had both been adopted by Esme and Carlisle – not to mention, she was dating my brother while I was dating hers. But, we'd never been close and we rarely hung out alone with each other. Though friendly, we had never become friends. I was sure she had probably decided to come along because of Bella, liking our new friend as much as I did.

Bella's entrance into our lives had unexpectedly changed our family dynamic. We were hanging out as a group more, we were happier and more carefree in a way, and we were becoming closer. I certainly had never thought that Rose and I would ever be close, but the past few days we were hanging out more and more with each other and actually enjoying doing so. Edward was happier, which made the rest of us happier - and Esme and Carlisle seemed less worried, as if a weight had been lifted off of them.

I looked over at Bella out of the corner of my eye and wondered how one single person could cause so much change in our lives – and without even trying to. I tried to figure out what it was about her that had managed to unite my family and bring out the best in each of us. She had healed something within us that I hadn't even known was broken.

Whatever it was in her that had somehow touched each of us, it made her feel like she belonged with our family. She wasn't just my friend – she felt more like a sister to me. I didn't quite understand it yet, but I was glad of it.

"So, what's my costume going to look like?" Bella asked, pulling me out of my reverie.

"It's a surprise," I answered with a smile.

I was excited about the costume I had planned for her. I had the whole thing designed already and even had all of the accessories I would need for it – everything except the actual dress. I had decided, in the end, that it would be too risky to pick out the gown without Bella there to try it on. I was looking for the perfect gown, after all, and I needed to see it on her in order to be sure I had the one.

"How will I know what to look for, then?" she asked.

"Well, I can give you an idea of what we're after. We're looking for something simple, not too showy. It has to be a dark blue – midnight blue would be preferable but as long as it's a darker blue it should work. And, most importantly, we're looking for something you'll feel comfortable in." I explained.

Honestly, though, I knew I'd know the dress when I saw it. I already had an idea in my head of what we were looking for, I just had to find the dress that matched.

We pulled into the mall and I found us a parking spot; as we climbed out of the car I felt a growing sense of anticipation. I loved this part – I loved the people and the noise and the visual overload. Mostly, though, I loved the hunt.

As we walked into the mall, Bella asked, "Rose, what kind of shoes are you looking for?"

"Red fuck-me shoes," Rose answered.

"Rose!" Bella exclaimed, sounding shocked. I wasn't sure whether she was amused or embarrassed.

"What?" Rose asked innocently, "It's what everyone calls them."

Bella just rolled her eyes, while I laughed. Everyone might not call the sexy spiked heels Rose was looking for fuck-me shoes, but the name certainly let you know exactly what type of shoes she was shopping for.

We headed off to look for dresses first, as that was top priority. We started with the department stores as they would have the biggest selections. I guided us towards Bloomingdale's, which I thought would have the best selections.

I picked up a couple of dresses that I wasn't in love with, but thought I could use them to help me decide which style best suited Bella's body type, and sent Bella off to the dressing room. Rose and I followed her in there, taking seats on the bench to wait for her.

"What costume did you end up deciding on for the Gala?" I asked Rose. I knew she had had trouble making a decision about her costume but figured if she was picking out shoes, she had probably made a decision.

"I'm going as an angel," she answered.

Knowing that she was looking for red shoes, that surprised me. "Then why are you looking for red hooker heels?"

"It was actually Emmett's idea. Okay, I'm wearing this little white dress with all of these feathers on it, with wings and a half-mask both made out of feathers as well, and a halo. Emmett actually found this red velvet suit that he's wearing, with this red shirt to go under it, and this cute little devil-tail pin he'll be wearing on his lapel. But, to mix things up a little, I'll be wearing red high heels and he'll be wearing this shiny white tie. The idea is that there is a little bit of a devil in all of us, and a little bit of an angel in all of us," she explained.

I actually thought it was a really cute idea and a great way to add originality to their costumes. "You guys are going to look great together. I can't believe Emmett found a red velvet suit. I can totally picture him in it, too."

"I know, right? I have no idea where he got it from. My only problem will be making sure he doesn't try wearing it anywhere after the Gala. That'll be just my luck, he'll get it in his head that it's something he wants to wear to school."

"He'd do it just to embarrass you," I laughed.

We stopped talking when Bella came out wearing the first dress – an ankle-length simple A-line. Looking at it, I decided that while she looked good in it, a shorter length would probably suit her better; so I sent her back to try on the next dress.

"What are you planning on going as?" Rose asked, returning to our discussion.

"I'm going as Aphrodite while Jasper is going as Ares," I answered.

"The Goddess of love and the God of warfare – ha, that's great. Who came up with that idea?"

"Jasper, actually. Or, at least, Jasper suggested I go as Aphrodite and I liked the idea but thought it would be even better if he went as Ares."

Bella stepped out in the second dress and I stood up to get a better look. This one was the right length, just a few inches above her knees, but the wrong style. It had a lower waistline on it which didn't quite fit the look I was going for with her costume.

"How do you feel about the length of that one?" I asked, wanting to make sure she was comfortable in it.

Bella went to stand in front of the floor length mirror, contemplating her reflection. Finally, she said, "It could be longer, but I'm also not uncomfortable in it. I don't really like this dress but I think the length is okay on it."

"Good, that's what I was hoping you'd say. Go try on the last one so we can compare and then we'll head to a different store," I answered.

The last one was on the longer side, it hung at about mid-calf, but I wanted to see how it looked on her anyway. I was pretty sure we would end up going with the shorter cut but it didn't hurt to compare, just to know what all the options were.

Bella went back in to try the last dress on, while I went back and sat with Rose.

Rose picked up the conversation where we left off, asking, "So, what does your dress look like?"

"It's short and flirty. It's red with an empire waist and all of these soft ruffles from the waist down. It has just one shoulder, with these two ruffles on it, pinned in a circular pattern. I got a feathered red half mask to go with it and these cute little red heart beads to pin all over my hair. I have these gold heels that wrap up and around my foot, tying off at my ankle and gold bangles for my wrists."

"That sounds perfect, I can't wait to see you in it. What about Jasper?"

"We had a serious hard time with Jasper's costume. I mean, when you think of the old Greek and Roman gods, you mainly think togas. Aphrodite was a little easier because she's the goddess of love, which I felt would be easy to bring to life. But Ares is the god of warfare – what do you do with that?"

"So he's wearing just a traditional tux, with us focusing on the accessories. Ares was known for his bronze armor, so he's wearing a bronze tie, with a black shirt on under it. We found a replica of one of those helmets you always see chariot riders wearing – I think that's what will make his costume. I also managed to find him a tie tack that has a shield and spear on it, and cufflinks with little torches on them – all of which are symbols that represent Ares. We've been arguing over his shoes, though. I want him to just wear traditional dress shoes while he wants to wear those Roman style sandals that tie up around your calf. He found a pair from who knows where, and is determined to wear them. Who knows which of us will end up winning that argument, though," I answered.

Rose laughed, saying, "I actually think the sandals will look good – and will help people associate him with that time period."

"That was the point Jasper made, too, but I have a hard time reconciling him wearing sandals to a formal ball."

"Yeah, but it's a costume ball so it'll be a little more relaxed when it comes to something like that. I think you'll find a few outfit choices that you would never see at another formal event like this."

I sighed, knowing she was right and that Jasper would probably end up wearing the sandals to the Gala.

"Do you know what Edward is going as?" Rose asked.

"No, and I'm not even sure that he knows. If he does, he hasn't mentioned it to anyone yet; and considering he was trying to get out of going until recently, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still trying to put something together."

"What's the costume you put together for Bella?"

I shook my head, telling her, "I'm keeping that one a secret. I don't want it to get back to either Bella or Edward so I haven't even told Jasper. I think she'll look beautiful, though."

Just then, Bella stepped out of the dressing room, ready to go. Rose and I stood up and we headed out to the next department store.

Three stores later and we still hadn't found the right dress. I thought it was probably time we left the department stores behind and moved on to the boutiques, but I also thought we needed some sustenance first. Bella must have been on the same wave-length as she asked, "Do you think we can get a bite to eat before we hit anymore stores? I'm starting to get hungry."

"I was just thinking the same thing," I said.

"Where do we want to eat?" Rose asked.

I thought about the places that wouldn't require us to leave the mall and decided that Hard Rock was probably the best option, and suggested as much. With all of us in agreement we headed off in that direction.

"So how is everything going with you and Edward?" I was unable to resist asking Bella, once we were all sat and had ordered our dinner.

I could tell I had put her on the spot - she immediately got a pained look on her face, as she glanced between Rose and me. I didn't know whether she thought we were going to try to grill her or if she was just uncomfortable with this particular kind of "girl talk", but she looked like she wanted to bolt. Lucky for us, she was sitting on the inside seat of the booth we were in – she'd have to climb over Rose if she wanted to break free.

"Umm, everything's going good – no complaints," she answered.

I sighed at her very bland answer. Most girls would jump at the chance to either gush about their boyfriend, or complain about him. But, then, I already knew Bella wasn't like most girls – which I had to occasionally remind myself was why I liked her company so much.

Rose came to my inner gossip's rescue, saying, "So we heard from Emmett that he walked in on the two of you getting hot and heavy the other day."

"We weren't getting hot and heavy," Bella said defensively.

"No?" I asked. "So Emmett was lying?" I challenged.

Bella grimaced, "Not lying, exactly – just maybe misinterpreted what he was seeing."

"I don't know, he looked pretty embarrassed at the time, and Emmett doesn't embarrass easily. I tend to think he was pretty sure that he had just seen something worth feeling embarrassed about walking in on," Rose came back with.

Bella didn't answer right away, I was sure she was trying to think of a way to drop the current topic. Finally, she answered. "You guys are his _sisters_, I'm not having this conversation with you. It's just too embarrassing."

"I'm not his sister. Alice may be, but she also loves gossip – I think as long as you didn't go into any graphic details she'd be all right. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you're just telling your best friends about your boyfriend."

"You might not think of yourself as his sister, but I see both of you that way. Maybe later on, when I've gotten used to all of this, I'll be more willing to talk to you guys about him, but I'm not there yet."

"Oh foo – you're taking away all of our fun," I pouted.

Truthfully, though, I knew going into this conversation that she'd probably try to opt out of it. Bella just wasn't the type of person to gossip about her boyfriend. Of course, that would never stop me from at least trying.

"Can you at least tell us if you're in love with him?" I tried one more time.

"Are you in love with Jasper?" she shot back.

"Desperately so," I answered.

"And Rose, are you in love with Emmett?"

"Despite my better judgment, yes."

"How did you guys know you were in love?" she asked hesitantly.

Rose and I both stared at her for half a beat, taking in the significance of her question.

"You don't know if you love him or not," I said, rather than asked.

She sighed. "No, I'm not sure. Sometimes I'm think I do, but I don't know. I care about him a great deal but I don't know if it's love. How do you know something like that? Are there signs I should be looking for?"

"I think you just know. It's different for everyone – with some people it happens slowly and with others, one minute they're not in love and the next they are. But, I think you just finally get to this point where there's no denying it to yourself and you just know. At least, that's how it was with me. I just woke up one day and knew that I loved Emmett – just like that. He can be a big idiot sometimes, and he rarely speaks before he thinks, and the amount of food he eats is seriously disturbing – but for all of his faults I can sit here and list out, I have a longer list of all the things I love about him. It just felt natural for me to love him, like we were meant to be," Rose answered.

"I've always known I loved Jasper," I said. "From the moment I saw him, I just knew that he was the man I was going to love. It was a long time before he returned my feelings, but it was well worth the wait. Rose is right, I think it's just something you know one day. Don't try to force it, and don't worry if you're not sure whether you feel it yet or not – when it's time, you'll just know."

"I just feel bad; he's so open about the fact that he loves me. It makes me sad that I'm not sure enough to say it back," she explained.

"Don't be. Edward knows we all come to love at our own pace. His telling you he loves you isn't meant to make you feel bad – he just wants to share what he's feeling with you. I know my brother enough to be able to say that he would never want his feelings to cause you to feel sad or guilty or anything like that. Just enjoy the moment, Bella. For as long as you're happy and together, just live in that moment and enjoy what you have. That's one thing I've really learned from Jasper, to live in the moment."

"Bella, any guy worth loving will be willing to wait for your love," Rose added.

"Thanks, guys. I actually do feel a little better now," Bella said.

"Just remember, we're always here if you need someone to talk to. You're family to us now, too – and no matter what happens between you and Edward, you'll always be family. We're here for you, if you need us," I said as we paid our bill.

With that, we got up to go finish dress hunting. I guided us towards Chez Ami, my favorite little boutique; I was hoping we'd have some luck and find the right dress there.

We were walking around the store, looking at their selection, when I found it – the perfect dress – just like I was hoping for. The color was the exact blue and the style worked for the look I was going for. The length was what we had decided on earlier and I thought the cut would be absolutely perfect on Bella.

I scanned through the rack to find Bella's size, my breath held in nervous anticipation as I silently prayed they had it in her size. When I found her size, I snatched the dress off of the rack and handed it over to Bella, ordering her to go try it on. Rose and I headed back to wait impatiently.

When she finally emerged with the dress on, I knew we had found the one. She looked gorgeous in it; it complimented her in every way. I bounced up and down in excitement.

Turning to Rose, I asked, "Well?"

"It's perfect. I don't think even you could have designed a better dress for her. Edward is going to die when he sees her in it," she answered.

"Especially when I'm done with her," I added.

Bella had been staring at herself in the mirror while we talked. I looked at her expression, trying to decide how she felt about the dress. As perfect as the dress was, I knew it wouldn't matter if she didn't feel comfortable in it. Finally, I gave up trying to guess what she was feeling and just asked. "Do you like it?"

"I just…I look so different in it. I can't believe it's me really standing there. I look so, I don't even know, just not myself."

"Well, that didn't really answer my question at all," I said, laughing a little in exasperation.

"I do – I love it. I'm not a big dress person but I love the way I feel in this. I definitely think this is the one," she finally answered.

I gave a little shriek of delight, unable to help myself. "Excellent. You have your dress for the Gala, then. Now go take it off so we can pay."

"First, will you tell me what I'm going as?" she asked.

"Nope. You'll find out when you see yourself dressed up – now go get changed."

"Alice, you're insane," she said.

"And perfectly okay with it," I retorted.

Bella laughed as she headed back towards the dressing room to get changed again.

I now couldn't wait until the Gala. Bella's dress was the only thing left I had had to take care of before the event and, now that the dress was covered, I could just allow myself to be excited.

I was so glad that Bella would be going with us. Not only did I look forward to hanging out with my friend, but I knew that her going would mean that Edward would actually enjoy himself, for which I was thankful. I wouldn't have been able to truly have fun at the ball if I had known that Edward was sitting somewhere off to the side, miserable and not wanting to be there. But that wasn't a worry now.

We paid and shopped around until Rose found the pair of shoes she had wanted. With the dress out of the way, I was able to relax and pick up a few things for myself, as well. With all of our purchases in hand, we headed out to the car. I pulled out and headed towards Bella's house, so that we could drop her off.

"Did you ask Charlie if you could sleep over, the night of the Gala?" I asked her.

"Yup, he said yes. I don't think he was happy about it – I think he's starting to suspect that Edward and I are going out – but he didn't want your parents to have to worry about getting me home that night, so he said I could stay."

"This is going to be perfect - I can't wait," Rose said.

"Even I'm starting to get excited," Bella said.

We planned out the night of the Gala for the rest of the ride to Bella's house. Rose and I dropped her off with a promise to see her in the morning at school, before heading home ourselves. We were mostly quiet for the rest of the trip, I think both of us were lost in our daydreams.

When we pulled up to our house, I saw that Jasper was sitting outside and I knew that he had been waiting for us to get home. Sometimes I found myself wondering if he had his own form of premonition – his instincts in anticipating what I was going to do were just that good.

Rose climbed out of the car and signaled that she was heading inside. I followed at a slower pace, then headed over to Jazz. He held his arms open to me and I stepped inside them, glad to be within his embrace. We stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the feel of our bodies against each other.

When he stepped back out of the hug, he took my bags and placed them by the steps before grabbing my hand and heading towards the backyard. I knew where he was taking me without having to ask, and gladly followed behind him.

We made it to the rock and climbed up; with his hand still in mine, Jasper found us a comfortable place to lay down. We used to do this a lot when we first started going out – come back out here and star gaze. While I loved my family, we were a chaotic bunch and it was sometimes nice to come out here and just enjoy the silence, together.

As we stared up at the stars, I was overcome with a strange feeling. I felt my body tense while I tried to figure out what was causing the anxiety that was creeping up on me.

"You okay?"

Jasper's questioning voice, full of what I knew had to be concern, brought me back within myself. I looked around, dazed, trying to orient myself to my surroundings again.

I sat up, my mind searching out, trying to locate the source of my deep unease. Was it physical? Was it near us now? I couldn't place where the danger could possibly be coming from, but I was sure it was coming. I scanned our yard, trying to locate any possible threats.

Unfortunately, I couldn't ascertain when or in what shape it would materialize; without a vision to accompany the feeling, I was running blind. I had no idea if what I was feeling was something coming now, or weeks from now.

"Yeah, I…I'm fine, I just spaced out there for a minute." I answered shakily, sure that Jasper would see right through me, but wanting to try anyway. Until I knew something conclusive, I didn't want to worry anyone with something so ambiguous as 'I have a bad feeling'.

Jasper stared at me, unblinking - I felt certain he was deciding whether to let it go or pursue what was bothering me. I sighed, grabbed his hand and pulled him up and towards the front door, making the decision for him. As he followed along without a struggle, I knew he had decided to let it be for the moment.

Entering our house, I decided to forget about what I'd felt, for the moment. My hope was that eventually a vision would come and I'd have more to go on – until then, there really wasn't anything I could do.

That was the one bad thing about my visions - their randomness. Not for the first time, I found myself wishing I had more control over them; that I could induce one when I needed to. It was frustrating to have this power, and almost no control over it. Especially when I knew how much it could help us avoid danger, if I could only have them at will.

I could hear the others in the living room and, with Jasper, went to join them. Making one last attempt to shake off the ominous feeling, I pasted a smile onto my face and sat down on the couch. I wanted to go touch base with Esme, but I needed a few minutes of distraction first. Luckily for me, my brothers seemed more than willing to provide it.

"Dude, you're wrong – flat out. This is like my area of expertise, I know my shit, and I can tell you without a doubt that you are wrong," Emmett argued.

"How exactly is this your area of expertise?" Edward asked, seemingly amused with their discussion.

"It just is. In the same way you know pianos and shit, I know this. Which is how I know I'm right," Em said. Unlike Edward, he seemed more frustrated than amused.

"I know 'pianos and shit', as you put it, from practice – a hell of a lot of it, actually. How, exactly, have you been able to practice post-Apocalyptic zombie survival techniques?"

"Do you know how many hours I've logged on the Resident Evil games? Enough to classify me as an expert survivalist in a zombie infested world. Look, all right, there's a method, okay? A tank is too slow moving - you'll attract zombies wherever you go. Then what? You'll loose the one thing you have going for you – the element of surprise. You need to be able to sneak in there and restock your supplies and shit. You need something fast and relatively secure. Personally, I'd go with a pimped-out Hummer, equipped with armor and artillery. It's fast, it's big enough to run over anything standing in your way, and it's relatively quiet, giving you the ability to sneak in and out if need be."

I laughed at how serious Emmett was getting over a debate that was essentially about fantasy creatures. Only my brother.

Their apocalyptic debate had been enough to distract me and pull me out of my funk though and, for that, I was grateful.

"You guys are such goobers," I lovingly teased as I got up to go find Esme, to tell her all about our shopping trip.

* * *

**A/N:**

_hmmm, so I was going to ask whether it was worth the sacrifice of version one, but having not read version one yourselves, you probably can't answer that honestly. Kind of makes me feel powerful - omnipotent, in a way. No, I kid, I kid. Hope you liked._

_Let me see, oh, before anyone asks (and if you ask this anyway I will know you skipped over the A/N section and will be forced to give you a big fat fail) I will be posting pictures of the girls dresses next chapter. I already have them all picked out and waiting, so could technically do so now, but I want to torture you a little. muahhaha. I'm not posting pictures of the guys tuxes because, well, mainly because I'm not sure I could ever find a picture of Emmett's suit lol. I assume you all have working immaginations, though, so it all works out in the end. If I had streamers right now, I'd throw them up in the air to celebrate our perfect ending here. No, that's a lie....I'd be too lazy about having to clean them up. _

_What else, what else. What? Nothing? Oh good, then I can say goodnight. Leave me lots of shiny reviews...cause shiny things are so pretty. Look what staying up late to bring you your next update does to me! It makes me all weird and not fit for decent company. ;op_

_Ciao._

_~TCG~_

_p.s. Thanks to everyone who reviews, and thanks to all of my continued readers! Ha. You thought I was going to forget this time, didn't ya? Never! Oh, what? You didn't even noticed that I almost forgot to thank you all? Well, fine. I can take a hint, I can tell when it's time for me to shut up. _


	41. Chapter 41

**Twilight belongs to **

**A/N:**

_This is going to be a relatively short A/N as most of it comes later. I only wanted to say that his is a long one and probably should have been split into two chapters, but I knew I wouldn't have time to finish two chapters, so I cut some unimportant stuff and made it into one long chapter. Hope you like it! _

_Thanks again to all of my regular readers - thanks for staying on this journey with me! And a double thanks to everyone who takes the time to write up a review - I had some particularly funny ones last chapter (**EvE656721** and **eliza6801**, I'm thinking of you two). I heart the ones that make me laugh. ;o)_

* * *

**Bella**

"Can I please see what I look like, Alice ?" I asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Not yet – have some patience, Bella," Alice returned for about the hundredth time so far.

I snorted at her in disgust. I had been poked at, prodded, curled, tugged at, plucked, squished and squeezed, and scrubbed to within an inch of my life. All things considered, I thought I had shown a remarkable amount of patience with my torturer – or, uh, I meant, with Alice .

I was over at the Cullen's house getting ready for the big event – the costume gala. Alice had made me promise to show up at their house bright and early; if I had known it was so that I could endure hours of endless torture, I would have slept in.

My only reprieves had come when Alice would scoot out to work on getting herself ready. In which case, she sent Rose in to baby-sit, her sole responsibility to keep me from looking at myself in the mirror. Alice was determined that I would be surprised by the end product.

I sighed loudly, knowing that each time I did, it annoyed Alice . Served the little sadist right, I thought to myself.

It actually hadn't been all bad; I had arrived in time to sit down to breakfast with everyone, and we all hung out afterwards, playing foosball and goofing off, before Alice had managed to sink her claws into me. It just felt like we had spent so much time getting ready by this point, that I was having trouble remembering how much fun I had had earlier.

To make matters worse, I still had no idea what I was going as. Alice was working on my hair and makeup, but I had yet to see any part of my costume that might give it away. I might not have been so frustrated at this point, if I just knew what the end product would be.

Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned to see Rose walk in, dressed and ready for the gala.

"Wow, Rose, you look absolutely beautiful," I said, truly meaning it.

Dressed as an angel, she was somehow able to look both angelic and sexy at the same time. The combination was a draw dropper, and I knew anyone looking at her tonight would be struck by her looks. Rose was born to be a model, I didn't know why she had never tried to break into the business.

Not for the first time, I worried about how I would look standing next to Rose and Alice. The two of them were so beautiful that I knew I would always pale in comparison. Normally, that wouldn't bother me – but I wanted to feel beautiful tonight and I wasn't sure that would be possible after seeing myself standing next to my two striking best friends.

"Thanks, Bella," Rose said. "You're going to look just as beautiful when you're done, though."

"I could never look anywhere near as beautiful as you, Rose," I answered, knowing I spoke the truth.

"Bella, I don't think you really see yourself," Alice answered. "You have a different look than Rose does, but you're just as beautiful in your own way. For every guy ogling Rose there tonight, there will be one ogling you, I can almost guarantee it. You have to just trust me on this one."

I knew she was wrong, but I wasn't going to make a thing out of it. I promised myself that I would try to not compare myself to Rose and Alice, and just enjoy myself tonight.

"Okay, I think I'm done. Your dress is hanging up in the bathroom – I hung a towel over the mirror so that you couldn't see yourself until you were all done, don't peak!" Alice practically yelled at me.

I stood up in relief, glad to be able to move around freely again, and even more glad that I'd be released from my prison soon. Alice hadn't wanted Edward to see me until I was completely put together, so I'd been trapped in her room since we had started to get ready.

Seeing the towel she had hung up from the mirror, I laughed at the length Alice had gone to in order to keep my costume a surprise. She might be a pixie in stature, but she had one of the biggest personalities I had ever met. Even after she had spent the day torturing me, I was still glad I could call her friend.

Carefully, I slipped into my dress, trying desperately not to mess up any of Alice 's hard work. I felt a growing sense of anticipation, knowing I was just moments away from finally seeing what I looked like. I did my best to zip up my dress, knowing I would have to ask Rose or Alice to finish the last little bit. When I was satisfied the dress was covering everything it was supposed to cover, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Alice and Rose were standing there waiting for me to emerge, when I opened the door. I walked out and stood facing them, waiting for the final verdict. The two of them just sat there, staring at me – Alice with a smile on her face, Rose with a look of shock.

"Wow. Just, wow, Bella. Wait till you see yourself; you look unbelievable," Rose said.

I felt my heart skip a beat at her words and, with a sense of excitement, indicated to Alice that I was going to go look in the mirror, _finally_. With a nod of her head, her smile still firmly in place, she stepped aside to give me access.

I stepped up and stared at my reflection, unable to believe what I was seeing. I didn't look like me at all or, at least, I didn't look like the me I was used to seeing.

The person staring back at me from within the mirror was exotic looking and beautiful, not the person I was used to seeing staring back at me every morning. I couldn't believe the change Alice had brought about and, seeing it, I knew that every second of the torture I had endured at her hands today was worth it. I would never again question Alice 's abilities when it came to makeovers.

Alice walked up and playfully wrapped her arm around my waist, asking as she did, "Well? What do you think?"

" Alice , I just…wow. I can't believe it's me standing there. I've never looked this beautiful before in my life. Thank you," I answered, emotion flooding my voice.

"You always look this beautiful; tonight you just look a little more made up than usual. I'm not a miracle worker, Bella, I couldn't have made you look this beautiful if you weren't beautiful to start out with. A pretty dress and some make-up can only do so much, after all," Alice said.

I hugged her in thanks, both for what she had done for me and what she had said. For the first time, I felt truly sexy and feminine, and I knew I owed that to Alice .

"All right, Alice , why don't you go finish getting ready so that we can head downstairs. I'm sure the boys are going crazy waiting for us; they're not the most patient bunch after all," Rose said.

I laughed, knowing she was right. The boys had already called up the stairs for us twice, their impatience getting the best of them. Both times, Alice informed them that perfection took time and to have patience. I was glad that Esme and Carlisle had gone on ahead of us, as I would have felt guilty if we had made Esme late for her own ball.

"I'll be ready in two minutes. Oh, here's your mask, Bella," Alice said, as she handed me a small packaged wrapped in tissue paper.

She went in the bathroom to finish getting ready as I opened the package she handed me. Unwrapping it, I got my first glance at the mask I would be wearing and, finally, knew what I was going to the ball as.

***

**Edward**

"What is taking them so long?" Emmett asked, yet again. Honestly, I was getting tired of him asking the same question, over and over again.

"They'll be down when they're ready, and not a minute before. You should know this by now, Em, they only do it every time we go out somewhere like this," Jasper answered, voicing the annoyance I guess we were both feeling.

"I don't understand what your rush is, anyway," I said. "I mean, we either sit here, relaxed, in the comfort of our own home, or we stand around at some stuffy ball. Personally, I don't mind hanging out here for a little longer."

"Dude, don't try to act like you're not looking forward to this. I know you are. I mean, look at us – three handsome, well-dressed guys who will, no doubt, have the most beautiful girls at the ball on our arms all evening. We'll be able to dance all night long and, hopefully, we'll get the chance to eat some great food. What more could we ask for?"

I had forgotten that Emmett loved to dance; the amazing thing was, he was actually really great at it.

Rose had made them sign up for a ballroom dancing class together, and after his initial bitching and moaning, he fell in love with the class. He's happily danced every chance he's gotten, since then – so of course he would be excited over a ball.

Secretly, though, I had to admit that I was, too. Not because of the dancing or the food; no, I was excited that I would be escorting Bella for the night.

Though we hung out all the time now, this was actually going to be our first real date. I knew that had to reflect badly on me, but at least the gala would be a step in the right direction. It was a little over the top in terms of first dates, but I was just happy I would have a tailor-made excuse to hold Bella all night long.

I paced around the room, trying not to admit to myself that I was just as impatient for the girls to emerge as Emmett was. Alice refused to tell me what Bella was going as, and I was more than a little curious to see her costume.

In an effort to keep my mind off the wait, I said to Jasper, "So I see you won the great footwear debate."

Jasper smiled as he looked down at his shoes – golden gladiator sandals. Him and Alice had been arguing all week over whether he would wear them or not, Alice preferring that he wear more typical footwear. Jasper won in the end, as he almost always did. Most people assumed that Alice won all of their arguments – but Jasper so rarely made any demands that Alice almost always gave into him, in the end.

I looked at his gladiator helmet, equipped with it's very own plumage, and shook my head in disbelief. "Tell me where you found that thing, again?" I asked.

"Garage sale," he answered.

"What were you even doing at a garage sale?" Emmett asked.

"Looking for my very own gladiator helmet," Jasper answered sarcastically.

"Where did you find your velvet suit?" I asked Emmett, still amazed at his costume.

"Pimps-R-Us."

I snorted at his answer. He was refusing to tell anyone where he had found it, for some reason.

I looked over at the two of them and realized how unoriginal my costume was compared to theirs. Emmett might be going as a devil but the velvet suit added a uniqueness to his otherwise common costume. And Jasper's sandals and helmet made his Ares a pretty original concept.

I looked down at my own costume and shook my head in disgust. Going as the Phantom of the Opera wasn't the most inspired of ideas – but I hadn't had a lot of time to put together something better. Still, I had on a great tux – and with my hair slicked back and my Phantom half-mask and cape, I at least looked like the Phantom.

Finally, we heard the girls at the top of the stairs. "About time," Emmett grumbled. I was just thankful that my wait was coming to an end.

Rose and Alice came down first – both fully dressed, both beautiful – and as they walked over to join Em and Jazz, I looked at them in question. Alice simply smiled and called up the stairs, "All right, Bella, come down."

"Guys, this is stupid," she said from the top of the stairs. But, she descended, none-the-less.

We all watched as she made her way down, looking uncomfortable with everyone's focus so completely on her. When she finally stepped off the bottom stair, there was a stunned silence as we all processed this new Bella we were seeing. I swallowed in an effort to gain control of everything I was feeling in that moment.

Em was the first to recover, saying, "Holy shit, Bella, you look beautiful."

"I don't think beautiful quite covers it," Jasper said. "Bella you look…"

"Stunning," I finished for him, when he couldn't find the right word.

Even stunning fell short; she was absolutely gorgeous in every way.

Her costume displayed her every feature to perfection. The midnight blue of the dress made her pale skin appear like flawless porcelain. The strapless gown, cut tight in the bodice, highlighted Bella's soft curves; the cinched torso giving evidence of her tiny waist. With a layered skirt, falling just above her knees in the front and trailing off in wispy tendrils in the back, the dress had an almost ethereal feel to it.

I knew that they had gone off in search of the perfect dress and there was no denying, they had found it – the dress looked like it had been designed with Bella in mind. She appeared delicate and feminine and oh-so-delectable in every way, while wearing it.

Her dark hair, done in soft curls that fell over her shoulders and down her back, highlighted her innocence; while her full, deep red lips added a sultriness to her appearance – a combination that was irresistible. To add to the effect of her costume, Alice had scattered crystal beads throughout her hair, giving it a whimsical touch.

The dress was paired with silver heeled sandals that helped draw your attention to her long, sensual legs in ways that wrecked havoc on my body, making me want to skip the ball all together in search of more interesting ways to occupy our time. Her only jewelry was a set of thin, silver bangles on her wrists, and dangling diamond earrings that I knew belonged to Alice - leaving her delicate neck unadorned. I could see that any other jewelry, when paired with her mask, would have been overkill, detracting from the elegance of her look.

Looking at her mask, I could finally see what she was meant to be. "You're the moon," I said to her, knowing without her confirmation nod that I was right.

The delicate silver half-mask, made out of a light metal, was adorned with tiny crystals that sparkled in the light. Underneath the left eye was three tiny stars; under the right eye, one larger star done in black crystals. On top of the mask, made out of the same light metal the rest of the mask was done with, was an intricately cut crescent moon, evidence of the mask's expert workmanship.

Underneath the mask, Alice had completed her look by adding midnight blue eye shadow, highlighted with a light layer of glitter, making Bella's dark brown eyes appear even larger than they already were - no easy feat.

She was beauty and grace, she was sensuous and ethereal, she was my Bella – perfect in every way. I knew how unbelievably lucky I was that she had chosen me; and I was so proud to be escorting her to the ball tonight, knowing I would have the most beautiful woman there, on my arm.

I raised my hand, lightly rubbing my knuckles down her soft cheek. My heart swelled with love as I looked into her dark brown eyes, and I knew that I would always remember what she looked like in this moment.

"You look exquisite," I whispered to her, emotions flooding my voice.

Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Thank you. It's all thanks to Alice ."

"Alice had a little to do with it," I replied, "but mostly it's you."

She smiled shyly at me in answer, the blush that rose to her cheeks making her look even more becoming. Everything about her called out to me, and it took all of my effort not to pick her up and carry her off somewhere, where we could spend the evening by ourselves. I sighed to myself in frustration, knowing it wasn't going to happen tonight. Instead, I contented myself with leaning down and giving her a soft kiss.

Behind me, Emmett cleared his throat in an effort to get our attention. "As much as I know you two would love to sit here and worship each other's hotness for a while, we need to get going."

I rolled my eyes at his words, but knew that he was right – Esme and Carlisle would be waiting for us.

We gathered our things and headed out the door. Esme and Carlisle had rented two stretch limos for the night, one for them and one for us, and ours was waiting for us in the driveway.

"Wow," Bella said, seeing the black stretch limo for the first time. "Are we going in that?"

"Esme knew that we all wouldn't be able to fit into one car, so rather than split us up, and in a treat for both us and them, she rented limos for us," Alice answered.

"I've never ridden in a limo, before," Bella said.

I smiled at the excitement in her voice, making me thankful for Esme's thoughtful gesture.

The others climbed in, with Bella and me the last ones in. I stopped her before she could move to get in, framing her face with my hands. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Bella Swan." Then, before she could respond, I helped her into the limo.

The ride was mostly a quiet one, the anticipation overwhelming us. Bella and Alice had fun exploring the limo, but after the excitement of our ride wore off, they settled into their seats, Bella taking my hand as she did.

"You nervous?" I asked.

"A little bit. This is my first ball, I'm afraid I'm going to do something to embarrass myself."

"You'll be fine, there's nothing to worry over. We'll be together the whole night and I won't let anything happen to embarrass you," I reassured her.

"You look nice, by the way, very handsome in your costume," she said.

"Thank you. It's pretty uninspired, but it was the best I could do."

"It's kind of fitting, when you think of it. When I first met you, you were a lot like the Phantom – you were erratic with me and caustic, your personality keeping me at distance, while at the same time, you seemed unable to keep away. I was repelled by the front you were putting on, until I got to know the man underneath the costume."

I laughed at her description, knowing she was right. Once again, I felt how lucky I was that she had taken the time to see past the jerk I had been, to see the real me. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like now, had she not.

We pulled up to the hotel the ball was being held at, the driver climbing out to open the door for us. While the others climbed out, I turned to Bella, asking, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Alice , waiting outside the limo, heard hear answer and leaned back in to say, "You'll be fine. Now come on, let's go, Cinderella."

Bella laughed in answer, and I could see some of the tension leave her body. I smiled my thanks at Alice , glad my sister had been able to help Bella relax a little.

Finding the ballroom the gala was being held in, we walked in, then stood frozen in shock.

Esme had transformed the room from a boring hotel ballroom into a fantastical garden. Vines, with flowers scattered all over them, adorned the room, making you feel as if you were stepping into another world. Twinkling lights were entwined within the vines, giving the room a soft glow and an otherworldly feel. Crystal globes with floating tea lights light up each of the tables on the outer edges of the room, with flowers strewn loosely about the tabletops. In the center of the dance floor, a large crystal chandelier hung, also decorated with vines, with dark red flowers mixed in, light up the room. The effect was magical, in every way.

"Wow," Bella said, the awe clearly apparent in her voice.

"Esme outdid herself, this time," Alice said.

As if having sensed our arrival, Esme and Carlisle stepped out of the crowd, heading in our direction.

Esme looked beautiful in a long, wispy purple gown. Dressed as a peacock, her mask and jewelry were made to look like peacock feathers, with black feathered shoes finishing off her look. Her hair was done up in a twist, with light tendrils framing her face, lending her look a soft elegance.

On first look, it wasn't apparent what Carlisle 's costume was meant to be. He wore a snowy white tuxedo, with a white shirt on underneath and black shoes. He had on an ice blue tie with a matching rose pinned to his lapel; his only other adornment, his intricate blue mask. I had had to ask him earlier what he was meant to be, and gave a laugh at his answer – Jack Frost.

They greeted us all and complimented Bella on her costume, having just seen it for the first time. Bella thanked them and returned their compliments with grace. I could tell, though, that she was feeling a little overwhelmed by everything so I pulled her close into my body, offering her my support.

Esme and Carlisle headed off to mingle with the guests, just one of Esme's many responsibilities for the night, while the rest of us went off to find our table. There would be a formal dinner, after which an orchestra would provide music for dancing.

Having just sat down, it occurred to me to ask, "Bella, do you know any ballroom dancing?" I hoped the answer was yes as it was a little late to try teaching her now.

"I had to take a semester of it at my old school, last year. I wouldn't say I'm great at it, but if you lead, I should manage okay. You do know how, right?" she asked.

"I do, as a matter of fact. Rose and Emmett took a class a while back and became obsessed with it for a while. The rest of us were forced to learn by default as they were constantly making us practice with them," I answered.

"Emmett took ballroom dancing lessons?" she asked, clearly surprised.

"Hey, babe," Emmett said, "don't think I don't have a sensitive side to me. I totally rock the sweet and sensitive."

Rose rolled her eyes, saying, "That's why you gave me a cookbook for my birthday this year, with all of your favorite recipes tabbed off for me."

"That was a joke and you know it. You have to admit, I did a good job with your real gift," he said.

Rose smiled, saying, "You did; you always do a great job with gifts. For being such a big goofy bear, you're pretty thoughtful."

"What did he get you?" Bella asked.

"This necklace that we had seen months before my birthday. We were at the mall one day when I saw it and fell in love with it. By the time my birthday had rolled around, I'd completely forgotten about it. Emmett had gone back for it the week after we saw it, and had it hidden away the whole time, waiting. He's actually one of the best gift-givers because he pays attention," Rose answered.

"All right, all right," Emmett laughed. "Don't embarrass me, now. I don't want it to get out that I'm a softie."

"I think it's too late for that, Em. I've pretty much known you were a softie since the day we met," Bella said.

"Come on, you're telling me you weren't intimidated by me when we first met?" he asked.

"Not even a little," Bella laughed.

"Most people are terrified of me."

"Then most people aren't paying attention. You're a pretty big guy, and your loud and energetic, but there's not a malicious bone in your body. You're a good guy, Em; anyone with any kind of intelligence should see that within fifteen seconds of meeting you," Bella said.

"Thanks you, Bells," he said, his face red.

I knew he was a little embarrassed, but also happy at her words. He acted like it didn't get to him, but I knew it bothered him that people made so many assumptions about him based on his size. Bella was important to him, and had been since they first met; knowing that she saw him for who he really was would mean a lot to him.

Our food was brought around and dinner passed in a blur of conversation and laughter. Esme and Carlisle stopped by briefly, to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and having fun, but then headed back to the table they shared with the other board members.

As our dinner was being cleared away, I looked up to see that Bella's attention had wandered from our little group. "What are you looking at?" I asked her.

"I'm just looking around at all the different costumes. Between the beautiful outfits and Esme's decorating, I feel like I've stepped right into a fairytale."

"You look like you've stepped right _out of_ a fairytale tonight. Your costume is perfect for you. Have I told you how beautiful you look?"

"Yes, you have, but thank you for telling me again. You look pretty handsome, yourself. We all do, I think. I'd say we've held our own against the other attendees."

As she was talking, the musicians began playing and dancers slowly began to trickle onto the dance floor. Emmett and Rose excused themselves and headed out, followed close behind by Alice and Jasper.

"May I have this dance?" I asked Bella, knowing it sounded like I had just stepped out of an old movie, but not caring. I was determined to make her night special in every way, even if I felt a little self-conscious doing so.

"You may," she answered with a little laugh.

I took her hand as we headed to the dance floor. This was the part of the night I had been waiting for – the chance to hold Bella tight as we twirled around the room. I never knew I was such a romantic but, apparently, when it came to Bella I was exactly that.

I placed my hand on her waist and lifted our already linked hands into position as I felt her other hand slide up onto my shoulder. When I knew she was ready, I took the first step and watched her face as she hesitantly allowed me to guide her across the floor.

We were silent for the first moment of the dance while she re-familiarized herself with the steps and got comfortable with our tempo. Finally, I could see that she had settled into the dance and thought she would be okay with conversation while we danced.

"Do you like to dance?" I asked.

"Not normally. I'm such a klutz that it usually ends bad. When I was young, my mom had me in a ballet class, thinking it would help with my clumsiness. She finally realized it wasn't going to help me any on the night of my first recital. I tripped over my own foot and fell into the girl next to me who then fell into the girl next to her and so on. The whole back line went down because of me," she said, pausing to laugh at the memory.

"So," she went on, "normally, I try to avoid dancing at all costs. But, then I had to take that ballroom dancing class in gym and I realized that when I was partnered with someone, and when they were leading, I actually wasn't that bad. I don't know why, it makes no sense to me, but it means I can dance without embarrassing myself, so I don't question it too much."

"Well, you dance the waltz wonderfully, I'd never be able to guess that you weren't a natural dancer."

"I think I'm more comfortable dancing with you, it's making it easier for me to just relax and enjoy myself; which then helps to keep me from tripping over my own feet."

Just then, the song ended and Bella slowly stepped out of my arms, and excused herself to use the restroom. I headed back to our table, where the others had already gathered again. I took a seat and let my mind wander, only partially paying attention to the conversations happening at my table as I looked around the room at all the different costumes.

I was spaced out like that when Bella came walking back in the room. Our table was at the far end of the room, away from the main door, so she had to walk from one end of the room to the other to get to our table.

As I watched her approach, I could see that a guy dressed as a court jester had set himself up to intercept her. As she neared him, she slowed down, unsure of herself. He took advantage and approached her, engaging her. I was about to stand up to go to her, when Alice's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"What are you doing, Edward?" she asked, the tone of her voice telling me she thought I was about to do something unreasonable.

"Going to her," I answered.

"No, you're not. You're going to stay there in your seat until she rejoins us," she said.

"That guy is bothering her, Alice, I'm just going to help extract her."

"That guy is asking her to dance, and you'll let her make her own decision about whether she'll accept him or not. Don't be one of those guys, Edward. Bella can take care of herself, she doesn't need you turning down dance offers for her. If you go over there, it'll be jealousy propelling you, _not_ chivalry, don't try to kid yourself on that."

I looked at Jasper and Emmett for support, but it looked like they were opting to keep their opinions to themselves. I sighed loudly but gave in, making myself sit back and watch to see how Bella would handle the situation. If she accepted and danced with the jester idiot, I'd have to sit back and watch her twirl around in his arms; but, if I was honest with myself, I knew that Alice was right and it wasn't my place to stop her.

Luckily for me, sitting through Bella dancing in the arms of another man wouldn't be a problem as she apparently turned him down and continued on towards our table.

"See, she turned him down _and_ you didn't look like a jealous ass - all because you listened to Alice's good advice. It just goes to show you, you should always listen to our good advice – we girls know what we're talking about," Rose joked.

I ignored her comment, knowing it was the wisest option, anything I said would only be used against me. As Bella stepped up to our table, I stood up to pull out her chair. She smiled at me in thanks, before taking her seat.

"What was that about?" Alice asked mischievously.

I turned to shoot her a dirty look, knowing she was having fun at my expense. Alice, of course, ignored my look.

"Oh, umm, just some guy asking if I wanted to dance," Bella answered.

"What did you say?" Rose asked, getting in on the fun.

"I thanked him but told him I was here with someone," she answered.

"It seemed like kind of a long conversation for you just to turn him down for a dance," Alice joined in again.

Bella looked uncomfortable as she answered, "Well, he tried to convince me that that shouldn't stop me from enjoying a dance or two with other partners."

Before Alice or Rose could continue with their mischief, Emmett came to the rescue, saying, "And he was absolutely right. So, with that thought in mind – Bella, would you care to dance?"

Bella smiled at Em, saying, "I would love to, Emmett."

I watched as he escorted her to the dance floor, then, after making sure she looked comfortable with the dance, turned back to scowl at Rose and Alice.

"You two are evil imps. Did you have fun at my expense?" I asked.

They both burst into giggles, enjoying my discomfort. I rolled my eyes, but refrained from chastising them further – it would have been pointless, anyway.

I turned back to the dance floor, trying to catch a glimpse of Bella. She was laughing at something Emmett was saying and, I knew, she was enjoying herself this evening.

When their dance was over, I took another turn with Bella, before handing her over to Jasper on the next dance. When I wasn't dancing with Bella, I was dancing with either Rose or Alice, or relaxing at the table. I managed to snag a dance with Esme at some point, while Carlisle took the time to dance with each of the girls. I could see that Bella was feeling shy at the idea of dancing with Carlisle, but she accepted his request without any hesitation.

The evening passed quickly and I knew without having to ask that we were all enjoying ourselves – it was evident by how much of the night we had spent laughing and smiling. I was glad that I had gotten over my stupidity in time to ask Bella to the ball, knowing I would remember this night for a long time to come.

Finally, the orchestra conductor gave us warning that they were about to play the last song of the evening. I went off in search of Bella, who had been dancing with Emmett again, and smiled when she took my arm from behind, having found me instead.

Her smile, as we began to dance, lit up her face, her eyes sparkling like the crystals she wore in her hair. The sight melted my heart and I found myself repeating a poem I had once read by the poet Rumi.

"The sky was lit by the splendor of the moon,  
So powerful, I fell to the ground.  
Your love has made me sure  
I am ready to forsake this worldly life  
And surrender to the magnificence  
Of your being."

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's a poem by one of my favorite poets, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, though he's more commonly just referred to as Rumi. He was a Persian poet who lived back in the 13th-century," I explained.

"When I looked down at you just now," I continued, "it's what popped into my head. Tonight, you are the moon, and all of her splendors belong to you. Your light has touched me in a way that was unexpected, and unexpectedly a blessing. I am a better man, because of you – and hope to be a better man yet, to deserve you."

"Each day that I'm with you, I like myself more than I did the day before. Each day, I enjoy my life, and those in it, more. If you hadn't come into my life, this night would have had a completely differently outcome. I would have sat at our table, miserable in my loneliness. Worse, still, my misery would have infected my family, dulling their happiness."

"Instead, I've had the best night of my life, and, while I can't answer for them having the best nights of their lives, I can say that my family has truly enjoyed themselves tonight. You caused all of this to happen for me, Isabella Swan. You, Minx, have grown important to me in a way that I didn't even think was possible. You've captured my heart and brought me out of the shadows where I was lost. For that, and for so much more, I thank you, my love."

As I finished speaking, a single tear trailed down Bella's cheek. I stopped dancing to gently wipe it away with my thumb, cupping her cheek when I was done. We stared at each other, our eyes locked, as our awareness of each other grew, and we allowed the gravity of this moment to sink in.

Then, with my heart full of love, I bent down to kiss the woman who had saved me from myself, who had brought so much happiness into my dark life. I knew that Isabella Swan would forever hold my heart within her tiny hands and, I only hoped, that she would be ever gentle with it.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Before I forget, the link to the outfits will be posted on my profile page - there is one link with all of the outfits together. With each outfit, you'll see all of the excessories that are meant to go with it. Underneath each outfit is a place for anyone to leave comments, I can't begin to tell you how much I would appreciate you taking the time to leave comments, on behalf of everyone who helped me piece together the outfits._

_On that note, this has really been a herculean effort, in terms of finding the right dresses, masks, shoes, and accessories for everyone. So, here are the people I owe tremendous thanks to..._

_To **Gina** - for putting all the outfits together for me on polyvore (it never would have happened without you), for hanging out with me late at night, looking through website after website for the perfect whatever we happened to be looking for at that moment. For finding a moon poem that finally fit all the requirements I was looking for. And, most of all, for your never ending patience with me even after I said "It's nice, but not quite what I'm looking for," for the thousandth time. I can't tell you how much you rock._

_To **delia53** (whose story **Growing Pains **is listed under my Favorites - go read it...you'll be on my profile page anyway lol) - for being my fashion guru. For your patience, even after having to look at hundreds of dresses with me. For finding both "the dress" and the velvet suit I was sure didn't exist ;o) Thank you, you made my life undeniably easier this past week._

_To the girls over on the HT board - to **Saraya** and **AmandaCullen84** (she's on my favorite author list - go check her out), to **Diana** and **Lyana**, to all the other ladies who had patience with me and sat through literally hundreds of dresses and masks without complaint, offering opinions and links when they found them, thank you! Some of you might not even be reading this, but you deserve my thanks none-the-less._

_Last but not least, to one of my readers - **jolynnco** - for throwing herself into the crazy mix just to be helpful - thank you! I warned you that the Bella dress might end up being completely different in the end ;o)_

_Now, two last pieces of business. The first - the color of Bella's dress is different in the picture than described in the story. The story color is the right one, just imagine that the picture is midnight blue - I could not find a midnight blue dress that I loved as much...and I'm not exaggerating when I say I think I've looked at every blue cocktail dress on the internet! It's been crazy._

_And last - there will most likely be a break between this chapter and the next - for a couple of reasons. The first is that I'm on a borrowed computer and I'm about to give it back, so I won't have internet for a while. There probably would have been a bit of a break anyway as we're coming up on the last segment of the story and I want to make sure I can post each of the upcoming chapters with only a day or two break in between. To do so, I want to get as much, if not all, written out before I start to post any of them. So, there'll probably be a break, but when I come back you'll have the end of the story without any breaks longer than a day or two...and once again, I promise I will finish this story, no matter what. _

_And that is all. As usual, I would greatly appreciate any and all reviews you leave. I hope you like this chapter - it was a frustrating one for me and definitely the most involved in terms of research, but it was also a lot of fun. Thanks all!_

~TCG~


	42. Chapter 42

**Twilight and all of its character belongs to SMeyer**

**A/N:**

_I'm baaaaaack! I know, long time no see, right? I hope some of you are still with me. I hope this chapter makes the wait seem worth it. I started out hating it but ended up loving it. :o) Thanks to everyone who stuck by me. We're not finished yet, be we're getting closer. Thanks to any of you new readers, I hope you're enjoying the story._

_I have to take a second to send a shout out to Tessa, who sent me a message not too long ago reminding me I needed to get my butt in gear. I've had a few curve balls thrown my way and took a break from writing in general, and this story in particular, but I have always said that I would see this out, and I meant it. Thanks for not giving up on me!_

_And because we've had such a long break, a little summary. Last chapter was the costume gala. It was a fairytale of a night, love was in the air, Bella was a goddess, Edward was perfect, yadda yadda yadda. If you went a better summary than that, just go back and reread it. :op Anyway, without further ado..._

**_Bella_**

"Bellaaaaaaaaaaa. Bells. Come on, Bella, wake up."

"ooommphhh. Go away Emmett. I'm sleeping," I mumbled, buried deep within my covers. It was too early and I was too tired to have to deal with an enthusiastic Emmett.

"Come on, little sister, get a move on. We've got a day full of fun ahead of us and you need to wake up and get ready or we're leaving without you," he persisted.

Curious despite myself, I pulled my blanket down off of my face to peak up at him. "What exactly are we doing today?" I asked.

It was Sunday, the day after the Charity Gala, and I was beyond tired. I'd spent the night tossing and turning, sifting through my feelings for Edward and replaying the night's events. I'd finally fallen asleep sometime after four, in no better of a place than I was when I had first laid down. Looking over at the clock, I groaned to see it wasn't yet eight o'clock . It was going to be a long day.

"We're going down to Zeph's," he answered.

Now that caught my attention. I laid there for a moment trying to decide whether I had the energy to get up, before finally admitting to myself that Zeph's was one of the few things actually worth climbing out from under my warm covers for.

Zephan's Place, known simply as Zeph's to the locals, was as close to an amusement park as Forks got, just without a ton of rides. Owned and operated by Zephan Olin, an old Swedish fisherman, and his three sons, it started out as a small run-down miniature golf course and under Zephan's able hands had become one of the most visited adventure theme parks in the state. Zephan was mostly retired now, with his sons overseeing the running of the park, but that didn't stop Zeph from spending a good portion of each day at the park, hanging out with the locals and giving away ice cream to the children, much to his sons chagrin.

Growing up, I'd visited Zeph's with Charlie every summer that I spent in Forks. It was one of my favorite places and the thought of going there today had me brightening considerably. Yanking my blanket off, I threw my legs off over the side of the bed and made myself sit up before acknowledging Emmett again.

"All right," I finally answered, "I'm in. What time are we leaving?"

"Zeph's opens at ten, so probably not till quarter of. Carlisle and Esme want us all to sit down and have breakfast together before we leave, but that should still give you plenty of time to get showered and ready. What time is Charlie expecting you back? Will he be okay with you spending the day with us?"

"He's got work all day today, so I didn't really have a specific time I was supposed to head home. I'll call him when I get downstairs to check in with him, but I'm pretty sure he won't have a problem with me going."

Emmett smiled from ear to ear, and I knew he had been worried that I wouldn't be able to go with them. I laughed at his excitement and then pushed him out of the room to start getting myself ready.

I knew from Alice's empty bed that she must already be downstairs, which wasn't surprising as she was an early riser. I wondered whether Edward was awake or not, finally deciding the best way to find out would be to get ready myself and go looking for him.

After my shower I got dressed and headed downstairs to see what everyone was up to and also to call Charlie, to make sure I'd be allowed to join the Cullen's for the day.

"How was the Gala?" Charlie asked, after I was connected through to him at the station.

"It was perfect. I wish you could have seen it, Esme turned the place into an enchanted forest. She's amazing, she should be a professional decorator," I said.

"And did you guys have fun?"

"We did. I'm glad everyone convinced me to go."

"Good. I'm happy you had fun. So what's up? What time do you plan on heading back to the house?"

"That's why I was calling. The Cullen's were going down to Zeph's for the day and they asked if I wanted to go with them, but we probably wouldn't be getting home until late. Would it be alright if I went with them?" I asked.

"That would actually be perfect. There are some issues I have to deal with here today and we're going to be short a man tonight. I'll probably stop home for a few hours this afternoon, but then head back out on patrol tonight. Most likely I won't be home till around eleven tonight. It'll make me feel better if you're not home by yourself all that time."

"Is everything all right?" I asked. Charlie never had to work long hours like that, which made me wonder is something big was going on.

"Yeah, it's nothing. There seems to be some kind of flu going around the station so a couple of guys are out and we're running thin. I'd go home and just come in later to fill in, but I have some stuff that needs to get done in the office by the end of today, so it's going to be a long day. But it's nothing big. Are Esme and Carlisle going, or just you kids?"

"Just us. We're having breakfast together and then Esme has to head back over to the hotel for a while and Carlisle has work at the hospital today."

"Okay. Will you see if you guys can stop by the station on the way out? That way I can see you real quick, and I can give you some spending money."

"I'll ask but I'm sure everyone will be fine with it. I have some money on me, so you don't need to give me any."

"It won't hurt to have extra on you, though," he said.

"Thanks dad," I said with a smile on my face. "We're leaving close to ten, so I'll see you then."

"All right. Tell the Cullen's thanks, for me, and I'll see you in a bit."

I hung up the phone just as an arm wrapped around my waist from behind. Before I could react, Edward nuzzled his face into my neck, inhaling deeply as he did so.

"I love the way you smell. Have I ever told you that?" he asked, still breathing in my scent.

His breath on my neck somehow managed to give me chills at the same time it made me feel overheated. I almost always felt a little off balance around Edward, but in a good way, a way that kept me longing for our next encounter.

"How'd you sleep last night?" I somehow managed to get out at a whisper. The sensation of overheating had definitely won out over the chills, and I was having a hard time focusing, much less conversing.

"Hmmmm?" he asked, as his mouth found my ear. "Oh. Fine, though not as good as I would have if you'd been next to me."

He'd pulled away from my ear to answer my question, making me regret having asked it. To my frustration, instead of finding my ear again, he sighed and stepped back away from me. Which is when I realized we were down in the Cullen's den, where anyone could have seen us. I knew my cheeks must have been red from embarrassment. I took a steadying breath and turned to face Edward.

"Was that Charlie?" he asked, before I'd managed to think of anything to say.

"Yeah, I was calling to ask him about today."

"What did he say?"

"That I could go with you guys. He asked if we could stop by the station on our way out of town, so that he could see me for a few minutes."

"Yeah, no problem. I was actually afraid he wouldn't let you come, as you were here all day yesterday, too."

"Well, he's stuck working all day, so even if I didn't go he wouldn't really have a chance to see me."

"I hate feeling glad that he has to work all day, but if it means you get to hang out with us for the day again, I'm not going to complain about it."

I felt bad because I was actually thinking the same thing. Poor Charlie, everyone glad he got stuck working for the day. I was distracted from dwelling too much on it when Edward grabbed my hand and led me towards the kitchen.

"Come on," he said, "let's find the others and tell them you'll be joining us."

We took two cars, with Edward and I going on ahead so that we could stop at the station. We'd only spent a few minutes with Charlie, but the others still beat us to Zeph's.

"We ready for a day of fun?" Emmett asked as he handed Edward and me our tickets, as we joined them at the front gate.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked him as I took my ticket.

"This one is on me, Bells. I'm covering everyone's tickets," he answered.

"That's only because Esme gave you money to do so," Alice cut in, laughing at him.

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to impose on Esme, especially when Charlie had given me money to cover the cost of my ticket.

"Like I said," trilled Alice, "Esme's covering everyone's tickets."

I let it go for the moment but knew I'd try to pay Esme for my ticket when we got back to the house. Edward grabbed my hand and we went on in, and I felt a little thrill at spending the day at the amusement park with my boyfriend and best friends. My life had changed so much since I moved here.

"Well, what do we want to do first?" asked Jasper.

"Paintball," was Emmett's reply.

"No way, not first thing. We'll all be wearing paint for the rest of the day if we do that," Rose argued.

"We'll have the gear on to protect us," Em argued back.

"But it won't keep it from getting in our hair on on our exposed skin. I'm with Rose on this one, I say we save paintball for last," Alice joined in.

"I vote for Go Karts first, followed by some boating," Edward contributed.

"That sounds good to me," I said, casting my vote.

After everyone else agreed, with only a little grumbling from Emmett, we walked on over to the Go Kart course.

The Go Karts were always one of my favorite things to do at Zephan's Place. When I was younger it was about feeling like you were driving a real car. Now that I'm older, it's more about remembering what it felt like to be a kid, flying across the tracks. I've been on several different tracks, but Zephan's track is still my favorite. It was longer than most tracks and had lots of twists and turns.

We each grabbed a car and buckled in. I looked over at Edward and grinned in anticipation and watched as he gave me a lazy smile in return. I felt sure that the smile was meant to lull me into complacency. Alice had warned me earlier that morning that the Cullen's took Go Kart racing very seriously. I knew that if Rose stayed true to form that I'd never be able to beat her. She was a crazy woman with a need for speed. I had no plans to come in last, though, and was pretty sure that I'd be able to hold my own on the track.

When the light turned green and the horn blew, we all took off. Edward and I had managed to grab two of the front cars, along with Alice, so we had an instant advantage. It didn't take long for Rose, who we'd managed to get pushed back to a car in the third row, to muscle her way through and before I knew it she was edging her way past me on the outer side. We approached a turn, which I used to my advantage, cutting the corner sharply and pulling out in front again. I couldn't see where Edward and Alice were, but knew they had to be right behind Rose and me.

It was neck and neck the whole race, but I somehow managed to retain the lead. When the whistle blew for the last lap and the light flashed red to pull the cars into the docking bay, I was pretty sure I'd pull in first. I was amazed that I was still in front of Rose and was just having so much fun whipping around the track at top speed. When I finally pulled my car into the dockin bay and applied the breaks, I punched my arms in the air in triumph. I had beaten the speed-demon Rose. I couldn't stop myself from laughing, unable to remember the last time I had this kind of fun.

When the attendant signaled that we were allowed to climb out of our cars, I jumped up and turned to the others, prepared to commence bragging. Before I managed to get a word in, Edward wrapped his arms around my waist, lifted me out of my car, and claimed my mouth with his. I was caught off guard, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the kiss. He pulled away about a second before I became embarrassed, looking at me with a huge smile on his face.

"That was some nice driving, Minx," he said with a laugh.

"Uh-uh," Emmett's booming voice cut in. "I call cheat. You were totally helping her win, Edward."

I leaned back to look at Edward's face to see if this accusation was true, but the smile never faltered. He continued looking at me for a few more seconds before finally turning his attention on his brother.

"Actually, I wasn't helping Bella win, I was helping to assure that Rose lost. Did you really want to hear her bragging for the rest of the day?"

I punched him lightly on the arm, knowing that my win only came about because of him, but only half caring. Em, meanwhile, was trying to decide if that was a question he really wanted to answer or not. Looking over at Rose's pursed lips as she stared him down, he must have decided to play it safe and, instead, changed the subject.

"So what now...boats?" he asked.

When we all agreed, we headed over to the small lake on the outskirts of Zeph's. The lake offered paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and even a couple of hobie wave sailboats. Edward and I choose a paddle boat, with Jasper and Alice joining us in the back seats. Emmett and Rose opted for one of the hobie waves. All settled, we started out towards the center of the lake.

Edward was steering, so I relaxed and closed my eyes while peddling the boat, enjoying the sun on my face. For the first few minutes we all sat there quietly, enjoying the warm sunshine. Finally, Alice broke the silence, asking, "Do you miss your mom, Bella?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before answering as honestly as I could. "I do, but not as much as I thought I would...not as much as I did when I frist got here."

This time it was Jasper who asked the question "So you like living with Charlie?"

I turned towards the back of the boat to look at him before answering. "We still occasionally have our awkward moments where we don't know how to handle each other, but I've gotten closer to him than I think I've ever been. It's a lot different than living with my mom, but it's not a bad different. But as much as I like having the chance to get closer to Charlie, he's not the reason I'm not as homesick anymore."

"So then what?" Jasper asked.

"It's you guys. You, Alice, Edward, Emmett, Rose, even Esme and Carlisle. I've never had friends like this before. I've always been an outsider at school. And I never really thought it bothered me but then I became friends with you all and realized what I've been missing out on. It's something I'm thankful I've had the chance to experience. You guys make me glad I'm here."

Jasper leaned forward and lightly pulled at my hair, a big smile on his face. "Well, we're glad you're here, too. You brought happiness to our house again. Not many people could have done that."

Just then there was a bump from the back of the boat and we all turned to see Emmett and Rose right behind us in their hobie wave, Em looking like he was up to some trouble.

"Avast you scurvy bilge lovers! I've come to claim this vessel as me own. Now ye be walking the plank or I be throwin' your scurvy-infested carcasses to the dogs when we take land again. I be recommending you take your chances with Davy's Locker, if I be you," Em called out heartily.

"We be taking our chances with the dogs," Alice retorted, getting into character. "Ten to one they'll be a might prettier than having to look at your mug, and with less fleas, too, I bet."

We all laughed at their back and forth, and then decided to head back to land. We still had a lot to do yet.

"Want to do the rides next?" Rose asked, once we were up on dry land again.

We all agreed, and after some debate we decided which rides we'd start out with and went off in search of them. We then spent the rest of the morning on the roller-coaster, tilt-a-whirl, bumper cars, and even the teacups. If someone had told me just a short while ago that I'd find myself sitting across from the big bear of a man-boy that is Emmett, spinning round and round in an over-sized pink teacup while he did his best to keep his breakfast down, I would have laughed my ass off at them, letting them know as politely as I could that they'd surely lost their mind. Goes to show, you never can really tell how strange your world is going to get, until it gets there.

Finally, some time in the early afternoon, we got hungry and decided it was time to rustle up some lunch. Zeph's had a big outside food court, with open seating in the middle and different vendors all along the outer edges. They had everything you'd want at an amusement park, from pizza to funnel cake, from curly fries and burgers to cotton candy and lemonade.

We grabbed a pizza, some fries, drinks, and went and found a table. I hadn't realized how hungry I'd gotten while going on all of the rides until I started eating. From the silence at the table the first few minutes, I guessed the others were feeling the same way.

"So," Emmett finally began, when we were all feeling a little less hungry, "looks like we have a new Go Kart Queen. How's it feel to have beaten the long-standing queen?" As soon as he finished talking, the breath was knocked out of him as Rose elbowed him in the side. Hard. She had a big old smile plastered on her face, so it was hard to tell if she was playing with him or actually annoyed. I was thinking maybe a little of both.

When I finished chewing the piece of pizza in my mouth, I was finally able to answer. "I don't think I de-throned her, honestly. I had help from Edward, I'm not sure that really counts."

"There's no rule we can't collaborate. Rose has had help from Em a time or two," Alice said.

"I have not!" Rose squealed indignantly.

Jasper gave a little laugh before adding his two cents. "Whether you know it or not, Rose, you've had some help from Emmett."

She looked at him for a second trying to decide if he was messing with her or not, then turned and stared Emmett down, a none too happy look on her face. Emmett, for his part, continued to eat his pizza as if the woman he loved wasn't sitting next to him, staring him down as if she was wishing a very long, very, very painful death on him. Admittedly, his face was a little redder than normal, but I was pretty impressed that the bad juju she was tossing at him in buckets wasn't causing him to choke to death on his pizza right there in front of us.

"Oh, come on Rose. It's sweet. He was acting like a boyfriend. A boyfriend who wanted to see his girlfriend win," Alice said, obviously trying to spare us all from being forced to watch Rose use her dark magic to induce pizza chokage on her boyfriend.

"Alice," Rose spoke, without taking her eyes off of poor, now cherry-red, Emmett, "if I thought that was why he did it I would think it sweet. But he's far too competitive for that. If he helped me win, he had ulterior motives for it."

Watching Emmett turn an even darker shade of red, as if that were even humanly possible, I had to agree with Rose's assessment. That didn't keep me from taking pity on Emmett, though, and bringing about a much needed change of subject.

"So what's next on the schedule?" I asked.

Rose continued to stare at Emmett, who continued to ignore her, for a few more seconds before finally giving it up and turning to me. "You always come to his rescue," she accused.

"Mostly," I said with a shrug.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know. He always has my back so I kind of feel I owe it to him. And, also, he seems so mismatched when faced with you. I kind of think he could use all the help he can get," I said with a laugh.

"Hey!" Em said with indignation. "I don't need help in dealing with Rose!"

Rose rolled her eyes at him, saying, "Then why are you always losing to me?"

"I am not! I don't know what you're thinking about, but I'm usually the winner between the two of us."

Rose snorted and, with a laugh, stood up. "Come on, let's go find something to do."

Leaning against a bail of hay, gun in hand, I was working on getting my breathing under control so that I could listen for anyone trying to sneak up on me in my hiding spot. I bent over, leaning with one hand against my knee to try to give my body a few moments to relax. This was time I didn't really have, but I couldn't see an alternative. After a few seconds, I felt calm enough to try to get a look around the bail of hay which was acting as my only protection. I needed to find a better spot, and soon.

I gathered up my courage and peeked my head around the side of the hay. The coast looked clear, but I knew that didn't mean it actually was clear. I reviewed my options, trying to decide what the smartest move was. I could stay put, hoping I'd be safe where I was. I could take the offensive and do some hunting of my own. Or I could try to find a better position to take cover, waiting my pursuers out.

Just then I heard shots ring out, and an exclamation of what sounded like pain. I knew someone had just been taken down, and it sounded like it was close to my location. I felt sure that if I wanted to survive, I'd have to make a move, and quickly.

With one more deep breath I rolled around the side of the bail and ran as quickly and as quietly as I could to a grouping of trees I'd noticed earlier. They stood behind another large bail of hay, and I had an idea I thought might save me. Crouching low I made it to the bail of hay in front of the little copse of trees and I paused another second to catch my breath again, and to silently offer up a prayer that I hadn't been seen. After a few seconds I was feeling confident that I hadn't been noticed by anyone.

I looked at the tree that stood out in front of the others and sized it up. I was pretty sure I'd be able to climb up it and then down it's lowest branch and drop onto the top of the bail of hay. I'd then be able to use the branch as cover, and just wait for my pursuers to come for me.

I tucked my gun into the back of my pants and started up the tree. When I'd gotten up to my branch I heard more shots ring out and then an oath. I paused to think about the person who had been taken out, then realized I didn't have the time to do so. The shot had rang out close to me, I needed to get into position and under cover before it was too late.

Once I dropped down onto the bail of hay and laid on my stomach, I arranged myself so that I could see over the hay without being easily noticed by anyone on the ground. I hoped it would be enough to keep me safe. I thought back, trying to remember how many separate shots I'd heard so far. I was pretty sure there had been three, the two I'd just heard, and one before I had managed to take cover behind the first bail of hay. That meant that there were two pursuers still in the field. I'd hope they'd take each other out, but I couldn't count on it. I waited for something to happen.

Just then, I saw a shadow pop out from one of the bails of hay, about one hundred feet away from me. I waited to see who it would be and what they would do, willing myself to stay calm. I got my gun set so that I was ready to take the shot, if one presented itself. Slowly the shadow grew until I could make out the shape of a gun, followed by an arm, and eventually by a whole person. They started inching towards me and I took aim, my finger shakily caressing the trigger. It was me or them, I kept telling myself, and I wasn't going out like this. I took a deep breath and tightened my finger, squeezing off one, two, three shots in rapid succession...and just like that Edward was out of the game.

I could see him looking down at his white jumpsuit, now covered in blue paint, and then looking around confusedly, trying to identify his shooter. He kept looking in my direction, but I must have been too well covered by the hanging tree branch for him to spot me. Eventually he shook his head before heading off to the side of the playing area. I wasn't willing to give my position away to let him know that I was the one who shot him. There was still one more player left in the game, and I wanted to win this thing. I felt a little bad about being the one who shot Edward, but hey, all's fair in love and war.

Now that I'd taken Edward out, I knew there had to be one player left in the game. Thinking back on the two closer shots I'd heard, and the exclamations that followed those shots, I was pretty sure I could narrow the only other player down to either Emmett or Jasper. I reviewed what I knew of the two of them, trying to decide which one it was more likely to be. My instincts were telling me it was Jasper, because he seemed like the more likelier hunter of the two of them; he was quieter and lighter on his feet. But I'd heard a lot about Em's paintball skills. Sure, most of what I'd heard had come from Emmett, himself, but Alice had confirmed that he almost always won their games.

Deciding I would work under the assumption that I was dealing with Emmett and not Jasper, I tried to come up with a plan. Would it be better for me to stay where I was, or to try to hunt him down? What was he more likely to be doing, hunting me or staying under cover? After a few moments of deliberation, I decided to stay put; I was betting on Emmett taking the role of the hunter over the hunted.

I sat there waiting for what seemed like hours, but I thought was more likely only minutes. For the longest time, nothing moved. I laid there scanning the course waiting for Emmett to show himself, looking for any kind of movement, and seeing nothing.

If I hadn't been on the far side of the course, away from the noise of the park, I might not have heard it. Luckily for me, a silence had settled over the area of the course I was tucked into, and so I heard the wrestling of the hay behind me in enough time. Emmett knew where I was, and he was trying to catch me by surprise by climbing the bail of hay I was camped out on.

I knew I had to react quickly, I scanned around me taking in my options, seeing that I only really had one. I waited just long enough to be sure Emmett was really climbing up the hay before swinging my legs around, closing my eyes, offering a little prayer that I wouldn't end up breaking something, and then slid down the back of the bail of hay as quietly as I could make an eight foot slide and drop. I hit the ground and dropped to my knees unhurt before popping up, grabbing the paintball gun I dropped on my way down, and running back to the other side of the bail of hay, where I was banking on Emmett still being.

I didn't even take the time to try to slow my momentum, once I reached the end of the hay I flung my body around, still in motion, took aim and started shooting. Emmett didn't even have a chance; he was stopped halfway up the bail, unsure whether to go up or down. My paintball pellets hit him down his back, one after another. Seeing that I'd made the shot, I worked with my momentum and flung my body back around, sliding in a dirt patch and dropping down to one knee before coming to a stop. It was a perfect maneuver, one that would have gone down in history if it had been witnessed by anyone who could have appreciated it. Instead, there was only me and a dazed looking Emmett. I sighed and took comfort in the fact that if my greatest sportsmanship moment went almost completely unnoticed, at least I had won the game.

"How the hell did you do that?" Emmett asked, still looking shocked.

"I don't know," I laughed. "I think it was almost completely instinctive. I didn't have time to think and plan, so I just reacted."

"That was amazing. Seriously. It almost makes me forget that you just beat my ass. I wish we could have gotten that on video," he said as he came up and put his arm around me.

I laughed as we headed back to find the others. "At least now I can say I beat all of the Cullens at something without needing Edward's help."

"I'm impressed you shot him. I saw you take him out and it was genius. I didn't think you guys would be able to take each other out. When you shot him, I thought I had you. I was able to see exactly where the shot had come from and thought I'd be able to sneak up on you."

"You would have if it hadn't been so quiet. I was able to hear the rustling as you tried to climb the hay, gave you away."

"Well, I don't mind losing to you, all things considered. That was an impressive move."

"Thanks Em," I said, as I scanned the skies. It was starting to get dark and I knew we'd be heading home soon. We were supposed to meet Esme back at the house for dinner and I knew it had to be getting close to when we needed to leave.

Em still had his arm around my shoulders as we met up with the others. They scanned us to try to see who won, to see who was splattered in paint, but as I'd shot Em on the back the winner wasn't immediately obvious. "Well," Rose said "who won?"

I looked over at Emmet, who had a huge grin on his face, and smiled up at him. He dropped his arm and stepped away and then slowly turned around.

"It was a thing of beauty, guys. In terms of paintball wins, it will never be duplicated or surpassed."

"You're shitting me," Jasper said with a laugh. "She beat you? The almighty Emmett has finally fallen?"

"I was taken down by a worthy opponent. The girl has natural paintballing skills."

Edward came over and gave me a hug before asking, "Okay, so which one of you took me out?"

Em pointed a finger at me like it was a gun. "That would be our Annie Oakley here." Then he launched into the story of my win as the two of us took our jumpsuits off and turned our guns back in. When he was done, the other were looking over at me, impressed. I just smiled and shrugged. Let them all think I was some kind of secret paintball goddess, I felt like I had earned it after my little display.

I grabbed Edward's hand and slowly we all started heading back to the parking lot. It was time to call it a day.

Later that evening I was sitting on the couch, leaning against Edward, when I looked at my watch and realized I needed to head home soon. We'd gone back to the Cullen's and had dinner, then all camped out in the living room to relax and finish any schoolwork that needed to get done. I had just finished an essay for English class and knew I couldn't put off leaving any longer; Charlie would be home soon and he'd be expecting me to be there.

I sighed loudly and closed my notebook, looking over at Edward as I did. "Time for you to head home?" he asked before I was able to say anything.

"Yeah, I need to go, I need to get home before Charlie does," I said as I gathered everything up and put it in my messenger bag that I used to tote around all of my school stuff. The others all stopped what they were doing to look over at me. I smiled at them and said my goodbyes. "Thanks, guys, for this whole weekend. It was probably one of the best weekends of my life, I had so much fun."

"Thanks for coming," Alice answered. "We all had a lot more fun with you being here." The others nodded their agreements and with a last wave, I headed to the door. "Come on," Edward said. "I'll walk you out to your truck."

When we were next to my truck he waited till I had unlocked it and then, before I had a chance to open the door, leaned into me until my back was pressed up against the truck door. I thought for sure that he was moving in for a kiss, but instead he just sat there inches from my face. He had such an intense look that it looked like he was trying to sear my face into his brain.

"What's up?" I asked, curious about what was going through his head.

"I'm just trying to capture a memory," he said.

I smiled at his answer. "Are you afraid of losing it?"

He looked serious when he answered, "I am."

"Why?"

"This was the perfect weekend for me. Literally, perfection. It just seems like something I should chronicle so that when I'm ninety years old, sitting in my recliner in my nursing home, I can think back to this moment and remember how perfect everything was. How perfect you are."

In terms of great answers, I couldn't see how that one could have gotten any better. Before I could over-think it, I looked up into his eyes and told him, "Edward, I love you," because I did. I'd loved him all along. I loved him even when I'd hated him, I'd just been too stubborn and too scared to see it.

I felt his body tense up and I waited for a reaction. He looked into my eyes, trying to read what was going on inside my head. I knew that in a moment like this, it had to drive him crazy that I alone seemed immune to his little mind reading ability. And so, I waited for that moment when he saw whatever he needed to see in my eyes, and realized that I what I said was the truth. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

I was expecting to see a reaction on his face before anything else, but before I knew it he had me swept up in his arms completely, and was claiming my mouth as his own. The intensity of the kiss had me feeling almost dizzy. I felt like we were one person, one soul in that moment. Edward's hands were wrapped around me and up in my hair, his body plastered to mine. I was reeling from the passion involved in that kiss, and just before I got swept away by it he pulled away from me a little, breaking the kiss.

"Say it again," he said, his voice raw with emotion.

"I love you, Edward Cullen," I answered.

This time the smile did come.

I pulled up in front of my house, shaken by the emotions I had just experienced and only just registering that the house was dark and Charlie wasn't home yet. I sat in my truck for a few seconds, trying to collect myself enough to walk up to the house, thankful that Charlie hadn't arrived early.

When I felt ready, I climbed out of the truck, not bothering to grab my messenger bag on the passenger seat. I'd finished all of my homework at the Cullen's house and I was too out of it to worry about bringing the bag inside with me. My brain seemed to be occupying a completely different plane of existence than the rest of me was on. I locked the truck door, slammed it shut behind me, twirled my keys around my fingers and started walking to the house.

The night had cooled down a little, but it was still a comfortable temperature and since it was late the street was even quieter than it normally was. Which is probably the only reason I registered the quiet snapping of the twig behind me. With a panic that seemed unjustified for such a quiet sound, I turned around to try to locate the cause of the noise. I felt sure, even as my heart raced, that I'd turn to see a raccoon or a small dog or something.

I turned just in time to make out the shape of a person, dressed all in black, before an object struck me across the side of the head and my world went dark. My last thought before I blacked out was that at least I had told Edward I loved him before I died...

**A/N:**

_Soooo, whatchya think? Drop me a line or two, let me know. I hope you liked it. A couple of chapters left, of which I hope to get up soon. I will promise you that the next one will be up soon. I won't torture you with a long wait after that. :o) Thanks again, everyone! See you soon._


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N:**

_What's this? Another day, another update? That's just crazy talk. ;o) This one is a shorty, as will the next couple be, I think. Hope you like it!_

_Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers. Glad to see some familiar faces in the review section! I'm happy that I didn't lose everyone during my hiatus! _

**Alice**

I woke up panicked, to the sound of someone screaming. I opened my eyes to see Rose above me, shaking me almost violently, yelling my name, which is when I finally realized that it was me doing the screaming.

I made myself shut up so that I could determine why I was screaming. My dream. I'd had a bad dream. Was it a dream or a premonition? I couldn't remember. I closed my eyes and focused on remembering, glad that Rose had stopped shaking me and was giving me a moment before she started in on the questions.

I remembered feeling fear. Overwhelming, mind numbing fear. I remember darkness and confusion. I remembered a voice. It was my voice, but not my voice. It was the person I was supposed to be. Was it a dream or a premonition? I had to remember.

I felt my body shaking and wondered what the cause of it was. What could I have been dreaming about that would cause my body to react like this?

"Alice?" Rose started asking, before I cut her off with a hand motion. I couldn't lose this. It was important, I knew it.

I closed my eyes and focused everything I had on the dream, willing it to come back to me. Images started flashing through my brain. The more I focused the more I realized that it wasn't just a dream, I had been having a premonition. I could feel the difference and knew in my soul that what I dreamed was going to take place, might even be taking place now. I fought the panic that arose, knowing I'd have to sink back into whatever it was that had shown itself to me. I sank into the darkness, allowing the vision to come, to take over my consciousness while the story I needed to see played out.

When it was done, when I'd seen everything I needed to, I started screaming again, only this time, I was screaming out a name. "Edward! Edward! EDWARD! EDWARD!" Over and over again, as I jumped out of bed, completely ignoring Rose behind me, and ran towards the stairs that led to the third floor and the boys room. I was in such a panic that I hand't realized I actually ran past Edward until he grabbed me by the arms and pulled me back to face him.

"Alice? Calm down. What's going on?"

"She had a nightmare," Rose answered from behind me as everyone in the house gathered in the hallway, my screaming having woken the house.

"Not a nightmare, a vision. He has her, Edward! He has Bella!" As the panic set in my voice rose in volume. I could feel Jasper's arms wrap around me, trying to offer comfort and calm me down.

"Who has who?" came Emmett's confused question behind me. I didn't bother answering, I just stared at Edward, giving him access to my mind, knowing it would be easier this way.

I watched the pain and fear cross his face as he felt what I had felt. As he witnessed the danger she was in, the pain she was feeling, the fear that she was so bravely trying to fight back. I had to watch my brother's face as he felt the last few minutes of the woman he loved more than life itself, life play out in front of him. I steeled myself, knowing what was coming, knowing he was about to feel her die.

"James has Bella," I whispered, when the vision was over.

"No!" he bellowed, a rage I'd never imagined possible coming out of him. "No, no, no, no, no, NO! FUUUUUUCK!" he screamed out in pain before slamming his fist into the wall.

Tears streamed down my face and I wanted to comfort him, to offer him some kind of solace, but I was too broken to do anything but crumble. Jasper went down with me, his arms wrapped around me as grief overwhelmed me.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Emmett and Carlisle trying to get control of Edward, who was lashing out in his pain. I knew they would be unsuccessful. There was only one person in this house capable of reaching Edward through his pain and grief, and she was collapsed on the floor, too busy trying to save herself to save her brother.

"Alice. Alice, my love. Come back to me. Please," I could hear Jasper beg, hearing the fear in his voice. "If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your brother. Edward needs you. And Bella needs you. If there's any chance of rescuing her, we need to act."

I could only shake my head back and forth, too lost in grief to answer.

"I know it's hard, my love, but I need you to tell us what you saw so that we can all know what we're up against. I'm here with you, I'll help you get through it, but I need you to come back to us first."

"She's gone, Jasper. I felt it. I felt him kill her. I was inside her head at the time it happened. She's dead. Bella's dead," I sobbed.

"How do you know it already happened?" Rose, crouched down beside us as and pale as a ghost, asked me in a quiet, scared voice.

"It felt different. Stronger, more direct. It was like I wasn't watching something that was going to happen, I was living something that was happening in real time," I explained through my sobs.

"What if it just felt more intense because of the situation? Bella's emotions would be running on high and James has obviously lost his mind. There could be a chance she's alive, and it's safer to not jump to conclusions. If we're wrong there might still be time to save her, but first we have to save Edward from himself," Jasper reasoned.

I nodded my head, doubting his words but knowing I owed it to Bella to try. If there was even the slightest chance she was still alive, I'd do everything in my power to get to her. I angrily brushed the tears from my face and took a deep, steadying breath, resolving to get through to my brother no matter what it took.

I shakily stood up, Jasper helping me up but then giving me the space I needed. I walked up to my brother, who was struggling violently in an attempt to shake Emmett off him, cursing him for the restraint, and I slapped him in the face as hard as I could.

Had it been anyone else, I doubt it would have worked. But the shock of his 5'1 twin sister slapping him across the face as hard as she could seemed to startle him to such an extent that he went stock-still. I could see that while his body had stopped moving, his mind was still in a violent turmoil.

The grief and pain I could see written as clearly across his face as if it had been in black permanent marker was almost enough to make me lose my resolve and crumble again. Almost. For Bella I would make it through this.

"Stop this," I said to him, my voice sounding as cold as ice. I couldn't show emotion, for either of our sakes. "Stop this right now and pull yourself together."

"There's nothing to pull together. I'm already gone, Alice, you just don't know it yet." His voice sounded even icier than mine, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I knew then that if we couldn't save Bella, we wouldn't be able to save Edward, either. He had already crossed the edge of the precipice, the only thing that would pull him back now would be the possibility of saving Bella. Once that possibility was gone, so would he be.

I would deal with that when I had to, for now I had to focus on pulling him back enough to help me find Bella. "We don't know that she's gone, Edward. She might still be alive and if she is, we have to find her now before it's too late."

He yanked his arm out of Emmett's grasp and took a swipe at my face, startling everyone but me. I had read it on his face a split second before it had happened and backed out of the way in time. Emmett grabbed hold of him again and I could feel the anger radiating off of Jasper, still stationed behind my back.

"Don't be a bitch, Alice. Don't lie to me thinking you'll be able to get me through this. You won't and I won't."

"Stop being a selfish ass," I retorted, letting some of my anger show through. "Stop thinking of only yourself, Edward. Get it together. She needs you to get it together!"

"She's DEAD, Alice! She needs me to follow her over, that's it! And I plan to as soon as this fucking great ape lets go of me." I looked over his shoulder to see how his words hit Emmett, but they didn't even seem to penetrate his consciousness. Emmett had his own pain and grief he was trying to deal with.

"We don't know that she's dead!" I yelled. "We don't know. And until we do know one way or another, we need to do everything we can to try to save her. Are you willing to give up on her this easily? If you love her as much as you say you do, prove it. Go after her now. Go after her even though you think it's too late, because if you don't you weren't worthy of loving her!" I yelled before turning around and slamming into my bedroom. I was going to find her, with or without his help.

I grabbed some clothes and my sturdiest pair of shoes I could find. I paused in the act of getting on my second shoe when I heard the phone ringing, and I ran out of my room and down the stairs, knowing who it would be.

Esme had the phone up to her ear, her face still registering shock. I could see that she was struggling with her emotions, so I walked up to her and gently took the phone out of her hands.

"Charlie?" I asked into the phone.

"Alice?" I heard him ask. "Alice, is Bella there? I got home late and when all the lights were off I just assumed she was in bed. Her truck was parked out front. I was exhausted so I went and laid down but then something woke me up and I felt like I had to go check on her, only she's not there. Is she with you?" There wasn't quite panic in his voice, but he also wasn't sounding like his normally composed self. I knew he sensed something was very wrong.

"No, Charlie, she's not here. I...I think James has her," I said, not allowing the fear I was experiencing to come through in my voice. Here was one more person I had to be strong for.

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

"I just do, Charlie. I think he took her and I think he's hiding her somewhere. I know this probably doesn't make sense, but I'm sure of it. And I know him enough to know he's capable of it."

There was a long pause from the other end of the phone and I knew he was considering the situation. He was the Chief of Police, he'd have a hard time accepting the say so of a teenaged girl without anything backing her up, but he'd also know that if Bella wasn't here and she wasn't there, then she was missing. He might not have an easy time just taking my word on the situation, but he would know his daughter enough to know disappearing in the middle of the night without telling anyone wasn't something she would do.

"I'm going down to the station and I'm organizing a search party. I'm calling everyone we know in this town to try to track her down. I'm sending a patrol over to the Black's house to see if James is there. If James has her, we'll track her down. If he doesn't have her, we'll track her down. Can you guys meet me at the station? If he does have her, any information you can give us on him will be helpful," he said, the cop in him taking over.

I didn't respond right away, giving myself a few seconds to think through a plan. Finally I said, "Some of us will meet you at the station, some of us are going to go out looking for her. I don't want to lose any time we could be using trying to trace them."

"Alice, I can't just let a bunch of teenaged kids go off on their own looking for her. It's dangerous and it could impede the search process."

I let my resolve come through in my voice when I answered. "We won't go by ourselves, Carlisle will come with us. And we won't impede the search process. We'll stay out of your way and let you do your job. And if we find them we'll call you, and we won't engage him unless it looks like her life is in danger." I knew this last was a lie, but I felt no guilt about telling it. I was doing what I had to do.

Before Charlie had a chance to argue I said, "Goodbye, Charlie," and hung up the phone, unwilling to waste time arguing with him.

I turned to see that everyone, including Edward, had congregated behind me, waiting for an update.

"She's not in her room. Charlie is going to organize a search party. It doesn't sound like he checked in on her when he got home from work, so we have no idea what time she went missing, but I'm assuming since he didn't mention any signs of a struggle in the house that James took her before she even made it inside." I paused to look at the clock on the wall, registering that it was now just after two in the morning. "So that means he's had her about three hours."

Thinking this last thought was enough to almost break through my resolve. A lot could happen in three hours...James could accomplish a lot of hurt in three hours.

I felt a hand slide into mine and looked over to see Jasper standing next to me, willing to be the rock that I needed to get through this. I took a deep breath and went on, knowing that my next sentence would be met with resistance.

"Esme, you take Rose and Jasper down to the police station to meet with Charlie, tell him what we know of the situation and what we know of James. Carlisle, Edward, Emmett, and I will go looking for James."

"What? No. I'm going with you guys," Rose immediately objected. "She's my friend, too. You're not going off to find her without me."

Though Jasper was quiet, I could see pain on his face and knew he was questioning my decision, too.

"Listen, someone has to help coordinate the search team and to help them figure out where James could be hiding her. Edward, Emmett, and I know James better than anyone else, we'll have the best chance at finding him. Carlisle is going because I promised Charlie he would."

"Shouldn't one of you three go to the station, then? You three know him so well, one of you should be directing the search party," she argued.

I looked at Jasper, knowing that this was the part I needed him to understand. "No, Jasper knows almost as much about him as the rest of us do, but doesn't have the same advantages we do. I need to be there, in case I have another vision. If we get close enough, Edward might be able to pick up on James' thoughts. And Emmett, well, Emmett is better at hunting James than any of us. We can't spare to not have any of us out looking for her, and every second we argue is a second lost. We need to move. I'm sorry Rose, but this is how it's going to work."

She nodded in agreement without any more argument, knowing that Bella had to be the one we focused on here. I turned to look at Jasper, who gave me a kiss and told me to be careful. Esme and Carlisle were already on the move, which I took to mean they were in agreement with my plan.

I looked over at Edward, who had his arms crossed across his chest. He didn't look like my brother anymore, he looked like a broken, angry, bitter stranger. He turned and headed towards the garage without acknowledging me in the slightest.

For the first time I worried that finding Bella alive and rescuing her wouldn't be enough to bring him back. Something inside him had broken, what if it couldn't be fixed? What if he killed James before we could stop him? Which was just another reason why I knew we needed Emmett along with us. None of the rest of us had the strength needed to overpower Edward. I offered up a silent prayer that somehow I'd be able to save both Bella and Edward before this night was through.

**A/N:**

_Let me know what you thought of it! It's one of my favorites, but I've learned that the chapters I really love writing aren't always the ones best loved by my readers lol. _

_One of my regulars, **missie33**, asked me if I'm still planning on doing a sequel. I've been wavering back and forth on this one. I have an idea for a sequel but this story ends in such a way where I won't have to do one to complete this or anything. It would be set about five or six years in the future, right after everyone graduates from college and will be a lot different than this one. Same characters, just a lot has happened in between now and then. So your homework is to let me know if you'd be interested in reading a follow up to this. If you are, just drop me a quick line or two, so I can see that there would be some interest in it. If we're all ready to move on, I'll just move on to my next project I have lined up. Okay, thanks everyone!_

_I hope to have the next chapter up in a day or two. I had starting working on the next one and realized that I wanted to change the sequence order, so now I have to write the chapter in between this one and that. Anyway, keep an eye out for it in the near future._


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N:**

_Raise your hand if you thought the last update was the last one you'd see for like six months. Don't lie now, you know you were thinking it! lol. _

_Not really much to say. Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to read and review! I'm always happy to get feedback from my readers, and it helps to keep me motivated. Besides that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**Bella**

I came to consciousness with a gasp. Before I'd even had a moment to process what was going on, I was overwhelmed with feelings of terror and confusion. It didn't help that my head felt like it was seconds away from exploding. I was overwhelmed and starting to hyperventilate and I hadn't even managed to open my eyes yet.

I shut my brain down, made myself focus on nothing but my breathing. I'd do myself no good if I passed out from fear before I'd even gotten my bearings. It took longer than I was comfortable with to get myself calmed down, but eventually I was breathing normally again. The pain in my head was still unbearable, but there was nothing I could do about that for the moment.

I knew that eventually I'd have to open my eyes, but I feared both what I'd find and the physical pain doing so would probably cause me. I knew though that I couldn't put it off any longer. I still had no idea who had hit me or where I'd been taken. After I finished silently admonishing myself for being such a wimp, I slowly cracked my eyes. The pain was as bad as I thought it would be and I wasn't sure, but I thought there was a good chance I had blacked out again for a few seconds there.

When I felt optimistic enough to give it another try, I opened my eyes again and finally took in my surroundings. I was laying on the floor of a cavern of some sort. From what I could tell, I was the only one there, though it was hard to know for sure. The only light in the room came from one of those small yellow plastic camping lanterns that I used to have as a kid, the kind that slide down to become a flashlight or back up again to become a lantern. As far as adequate lighting goes, it ranked pretty low on the list.

The cavern was large and circular. I was about one hundred or so feet from the entrance, and the room looked to be as wide as it was long. The ceiling of the cavern looked to be about a dozen feet up and was basically flat. I could see parts of the walls were covered in moss, which made me think there was a source of water nearby.

The air had a stale smell to it, as if little fresh air made its way through the cavern. The night had gotten chillier, and I was cold enough that I had goosebumps on my arms. I was also covered in dirt. I thought the dirt floor I was laying on was probably responsible for some of that, but I found myself wondering if I had been dragged part of the way here.

I could see that I was tucked away in the back corner of the cavern, gagged and with my hands and feet tied. With the gag in my mouth, I had to constantly fight the urge to gag. At least my hands were tied in front of me and not behind my back; that would have exponentially increased my level of discomfort.

The opening to the cavern was about one hundred feet away from where I was laying, and I could tell that it was still dark out; beyond that, I had no idea how long I'd been laying there unconscious for. I wondered if Charlie had found me. I wonder if Edward and his family knew by now that I was gone. I worried for their sake as much as for my own. I know the fear when they realized I was gone would take a toll on them.

I forced myself to take stock of my body. I needed to do so, but I also needed a distraction from my thoughts. My head was definitely a problem; I was worried I might have a concussion but knew there was nothing I could do about it now. The right side of my head, where I had been hit, felt sticky, as if it had been bleeding, but didn't feel like it was bleeding now; so that was something, I guess. Besides that, I didn't think I was hurt anywhere else. My body felt sore, as if I'd exercised too hard the day before or slept on a...well, a dirt floor I guess. Which, of course, I had.

I decided it would be safe to try to sit up, and slowly but surely inched myself up so that I was sitting up, leaning back against the cavern wall. It wasn't the most comfortable position, and I had almost passed out again from the effort of getting there, but I felt better surveying things from sitting up than I had laying on the floor.

I had no idea who my attacker was, or what they wanted. Worse, I didn't know where they had taken me, how far we were from Forks. I didn't think I had slept through an entire day into the next night, but I knew there was no way I could be sure. Basically, I knew nothing useful at all. I hoped that I'd be rescued, but had to face the reality that that was far, far from being a guarantee. If I was going to get out of this situation alive, I was most likely going to have to get myself out without any help.

Having decided that I would have to be in charge of my own rescue, I went to work trying to get my bindings off, trying to wriggle my hands out of the rope wrapped tight around them. When that didn't work, I looked around the area directly surrounding me for a rock or something sharp I could use to try to saw through the rope. At first I found nothing but little pebbles, but then I noticed a rock a little out of my reach that might work. I leaned over and extended, stretching as far as my body would allow, and with some wiggling, eventually got hold of the rock. It was small enough to fit into my hand, flat, and just pointed enough to hopefully cut through my bindings.

I had just managed to get back to my sitting position when I heard movement outside the mouth of the cavern. Before I had even decided I was going to do it, I had the rock tucked up under the ropes around my wrists, hidden on the inside where my wrists overlapped. Then I waited to get a look at my attacker.

I wish I could say that I wasn't surprised when James walked into the cavern, that I had been expecting it, but that would be a lie. My first thought upon seeing him was, _oh good, James is here. He can help me get out of this place_. My second thought of course was, _oh shit, James hit me over the head with what I'm guessing was a fucking rock, tied me up, threw me in a car and took me to god only knows where to do god only knows what with me. What the frack_.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on my idiocy before I had to deal with James, who had come to a stop and was standing in front of me. Dressed in jeans and a blue sweatshirt, his hair looking disheveled, he was carrying another lantern in his hands. This was the grown-up version of the lantern he had left with me, which did a much better job at lighting up the cavern than the other one had. Even still, I was glad it was the kiddie version he had left as the light from the one in his hands was worsening my headache. I turned my head slightly to avoid the light and he reacted by placing the lantern on the floor and turning it to a lower setting. It seemed odd that he would seem to consider me like that, but I was learning that I really had no idea what James was thinking.

"Little Bella. How nice to see you conscious again. I was starting to worry I'd have to find a doctor for you somehow." As he spoke he caressed my cheek. Unable to say anything around the gag in my mouth, I made do with angrily yanking my face away from him.

He didn't sound quite like himself. Gone was any sign of the playful, flirty James I had first encountered. His words were delivered with a cold steel, and humor in them not reaching his voice. This James was dark, calculating, and all business.

"Ah, I see my little Duchess still has fire left in her. That's good. I would expect nothing less from my Bella."

I narrowed my eyes into tiny slits hoping that my disgust would show through, while mentally telling him to fuck off. His use of endearments towards me was both creeping me out and making me more angry than I already was; which maybe was good as it was helping to chase some of the fear out. I wasn't his anything, most certainly not his Duchess.

He knelt down in front of me, staring into my eyes. I refused to look away from his stare, refused to let him see anything but contempt from me. When he got whatever he wanted out of our little stare-down he let out a little laugh and said, "I'll undo the gag in your mouth if you promise not to scream. It won't do you any good, we're far away from anyone who could come to your rescue; I just don't want to have to listen to screaming. If I do take the gag off and you scream, you will be punished. Nod your head if you understand and accept."

Considering my options first, I slowly nodded my head in acceptance, not seeing much of a choice in the matter. As soon as the gag was removed I screamed as loud as I could. My scream was cut short when he back-handed me across the face with enough power to knock me over to the floor again, and make my world tilt. I was in too much pain to try to push myself pack up, so I just laid there silently while I let my body cope with the hurting it was going through.

I knew he was going to hurt me if I screamed, but I had to do it. There was the off chance that he was lying about us being too far away for anyone to hear me scream. Also, I wanted to see how he would react to outright defiance on my part, I wanted to feel him out. Plus, no matter how scared I was at the moment, I was too pissed off to quietly follow orders. I knew there was a good chance he was going to try to kill me, and if that was the case, I was going to try to go out on my own terms as much as possible.

While laying there on the floor, I quickly ran through everything I knew about James, trying to decide the best way to proceed. I hastily decided that even though he had obviously gone off the deep end, I would work under the assumption that some part of the James I had interacted with was still inside him, somewhere; it just happened to be hiding underneath a psychopath.

I laid there until James finally grabbed my arms and yanked me back into a sitting position. "You shouldn't have done that, Bella. You made me angry. You made me hit you, and I didn't want to have to do that."

Without over-thinking it, I decided to play along with whatever little game he was playing. Focusing on keeping the venom out of my voice I said, "I didn't mean to; but, James, you hit me with a rock, tied me up, gagged me, and left me sitting here on the floor of a cave. Did you think I'd be happy about that?"

"I thought you would be happy to see me, at least. Maybe not happy with the way I got you here, but glad once you knew it was me here with you."

I hesitated before answering. I was unsure whether he believed what he was saying or if he was toying with me. Could he really think I'd be happy that he kidnapped me? Worried that my hesitation would anger him, causing him to hit me again, I answered simply, "I'm relieved to see that you're the one who brought me here." And I realized that that much, at least, was true. Better to be dealing with an enemy that I knew than one that was unknown to me.

His face lit up in a smile that never reached his eyes. "I knew that you would be reasonable once you saw that it was me who brought you here. Once I explain everything, I know that you'll be glad I brought you here, saved you from your mistakes."

"What mistakes?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Cullen. You were falling right into his trap. I tried to warn you but you avoided me, you wouldn't listen to me! I should have just let him have you after the ungrateful way you treated me, but I couldn't do that to you...to us. We're meant to be together and I won't let Cullen get in the way of that." He sounded maniacal, and I knew then that he absolutely believed everything he was saying; which scared me more than I wanted to admit.

"Why would Edward set a trap for me? What would he get from that?"

"Don't call him that! I don't want to hear his name cross your lips again. Okay?" When I nodded my assent he continued on. "He wanted to hurt me. We used to be friends growing up, until he betrayed me and got me sent away. When I came back, he saw my interest in you and knew that he could use you to hurt me even more than he already had."

Deciding it would be safer to steer the conversation away from Edward I asked, "What makes you think we're meant to be together? After all, you've only known me a short time."

"I just knew right from the beginning that we were meant to be together forever. There was just this instantaneous connection between us. I was sure you would have felt it as well, and that if you weren't afraid of Cullen's retribution, we would have already been together."

When he was done speaking he looked at me for confirmation. I could only nod my head in agreement. The whole conversation was making me feel nauseous. That someone could be so disconnected from reality scared me more than I was willing to admit. We lapsed into silence while James paced frantically around the cavern.

After I couldn't stand his pacing anymore I asked, "What are your plans now? What do you plan on doing with me?"

"We'll lay low for a few days. I figure what with your dad being sheriff and all, there will be a ton of people looking for you. So we wait for that to die out. I've collected the supplies we need to hole up here for a while and no one but me even knows this place exists. When I think things have quieted down some, I'll go to town and get us a car. I'll come back for you and then we can head down to Mexico and start our new life together."

As disturbing as his plan was, it at least gave me hope that he wasn't currently planning on killing me. Which meant I would have some time to try to get myself out of this, but first I'd have to free myself from my binds.

James walked over to where the wall of the cavern jutted out about ten feet out and sat down facing me. I couldn't quite place what had changed, but there seemed to be a shift in him somehow. While talking he was prowling around the cavern in nervous energy, now he was sitting there focused on me, looking like he was deep in thought. I actually thought I preferred the nervous James to this one.

"Of course, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that hurting Cullen offers its own temptation. If something were to happen to you, I'm sure he'd suffer untold agony."

The coldness in his voice gave me the chills. This wasn't the same James I was dealing with just a short minute ago. It was like one James had been pushed out to make room for another version of himself, I knew in my bones that this one far more dangerous than the first one.

"You said yourself that Edw, er, that Cullen had set a trap for me in order to hurt you, so how would hurting me hurt him? He'd have to have feelings for me, which you don't seem to think he does," I quickly countered.

"Maybe he doesn't love you, but there's no denying he has a certain fascination with you, even if James is unwilling to see that. Plus, it would be just like that bastard to feel guilt over your death, even if he wasn't interested in you romantically."

His referring to himself in third person brought me up short. Did he actually mean to infer that he was a separate entity from James, or did he just get a kick out of the way it sounded?

Deciding that I had to know what I was dealing with, I knew I had to take the chance and try to find out which it was. "You're not James?" I asked.

His eyes shifted their focus fully unto me and looking into their hard gaze I realized with shock that this wasn't the same James. I don't know whether James had split personality disorder or what, but this wasn't the James that had walked into the cavern. As scary as that James was, this James was a much deadlier one.

The silence stretched while whoever this person was continued his focus on me. I shifted uncomfortably and once again refused to look away from his stare, this time not out of stubbornness but out of fear. I didn't want to take my attention off of him for even one second.

Finally he decided to answer, and I exhaled the breath I hadn't even realized I was holding. "You can see for yourself that I am James. I am occupying the body of James, who else would I be? However, I answer to the name Jacob; just a nickname of sorts."

While I could see that I was still talking to James' body, I didn't for one second believe he was the same person that I had initially dealt with. Jacob wasn't just a nickname, Jacob was an entirely new personality. For a second, terror so overwhelmed me that I had to bite down on my cheek to keep myself from screaming out again. The bitter taste of blood flooded my mouth, somehow keeping me from going over the edge.

This new development wasn't something I was prepared to deal with. As if being knocked unconscious with a rock and kidnapped wasn't bad enough, now I had to deal with split personalities? There was only so much a person could handle calmly, and I had just reached my limit.

I struggled for control, fighting off the hysteria that was trying to take over. I don't know how long we sat there like that, me trying to keep the fear from winning out, him watching in what I could only assume was a disconnected curiosity. Finally, though, I was able to gain some semblance of control again. I leaned my head back against the wall, while never taking my eyes off what I now knew to be Jacob.

When he saw that I had won control, he said, "Pity. Had you screamed out again I would have had an excuse to slit your throat. And make no mistake, that's the only thing I intend do do with you."

I willed myself to not lose it again, using nothing but sheer will power. I felt sure now that I wasn't going to make it out of this alive. This person, this Jacob, was going to kill me and it wouldn't surprise me if he did it before the night was out. Whatever James seemed to plan, it was obvious that this was the person in charge.

"So let's have a little conversation, you and I. A meeting of the minds, of sorts."

"Ookay," I stammered in response.

"I want you to make no mistake, I will kill you before this is all said and done. I've gone too long without seeing the life drain from a living being; this will be my reward for my patience. Nothing you say or do will change that. But, you have a choice in this. You can play along, humor James for a while, and I'll make sure your death is fast and as painless as I can make it. However, if you do something stupid like try to escape, I will make sure your death is slow and oh so painful. It would all be pointless in the end, anyway. You won't be able to escape. If you do happen to get out of this cave, you won't get very far, I promise you that I would hunt you down and find you. And then, as an extra special punishment, I would hunt down your little friend Cullen and make sure that he shares your fate. Behave and I'll let your little boy-toy live. So how does that sound, fair?"

At some point while he was talking, tears started streaming down my face. I couldn't help it, I had been through too much. Hearing Jacob confirm my suspicions that he planned to kill me no matter what, hearing his threat against Edward, it was just too much. My body betrayed me. I started shaking uncontrollably, unwelcome sobs escaping me. I brought my hands, still tied, up to my face to offer me some protection from Jacob's unwavering stare and to offer me what dignity I could find, but they were shaking so badly that I dropped them back to my lap.

In an instant, Jacob was up off the ground, dropping down to a knee directly in front of me with an almost lethal gracefulness. With a sickening smile on his face he grabbed my hair and slammed my head back against the wall. I lost consciousness again.

When I awoke again it was to pain like I'd never experienced before. Before I could stop myself, I leaned over and retched. The pain in my head made it hard for me to focus and the cavern was just one large blur of darkness. Despite the chill of the night, I was covered in perspiration. When I licked my dry lips, I tasted salt and dirt. I had no idea how long I had been passed out for, or how long I sat there trying to get my brain back in focus again; too long, I suspected.

When I was finally able to focus enough to look around the cavern, I realized that I was alone again. James/Jacob apparently had left the cavern again. I had no idea which of them would come back, but I began praying that it would be James.

I just sat there like that, trying to stay composed and conscious, for maybe twenty minutes or so. Then it finally occurred to me through the haze in my head that I should be working on my escape.

Despite Jacob's threats, I knew I had to attempt an escape. Should I fail, well, the possibility of getting free of Jacob made it worth the possible threat of pain. As to his threat against Edward, I couldn't focus too long on that, if I did I would probably lose it again. I could only hope that Edward would be able to evade James, until James was finally caught.

I worked on getting the rock out from under the rope around my wrists, going slowly so that I wouldn't drop it and risk it landing out of my reach. I got it free and turned it around so that the sharp edge was touching the rope on the inner side of my wrists, then began the slow process of rubbing the edge of the rock back and forth over the rope, trying to cut through it.

It was a painful process. To get the angle I needed to cut through the rope, the rock had to continuously run across my right wrist, as well. I tried to protect myself as much as possible, but I couldn't completely do so while having any real affect on the rope. So while I was having some luck getting through my bindings, I was also slicing up my wrist in the process. I was lucky in that the rock wasn't cutting too deep, I was unlucky in that the blood from my wrist was making the cutting process that much more difficult.

I had made it almost all the way through the rope when I could hear rustling from right outside the cavern. Knowing that meant James/Jacob was coming back, I palmed the rock and pressed my wrists together to try to hide the blood.

From the way James walked as he entered the cavern, lacking the lethal gait that seemed to show up when Jacob was around, I thought that my silent prayer had been answered and that James was the conscious one this time, but decided it would be safer to not make any assumptions just yet.

He approached me and knelt down in front of me again, this time with what looked like concern on his face. "You shouldn't have made him hurt you," he said, confirming my suspicions that I was dealing with James again.

I looked away from him as anger engulfed me. Nothing about this situation was my fault, and I certainly wasn't going to take the blame for Jacob smashing my head into the wall. "You should learn to control your other half," I spit out against my better judgment.

"I have control of him just fine. He told me what you said, told me about your insults to me, he was just trying to teach you a deserved lesson."

"He lied," I said, venom in my voice.

Despite my anger, I registered the fact that while Jacob seemed to be aware of what was happening while James was in control, James didn't seem to be aware of what happened after Jacob took over. I didn't know if that information would prove useful, but I did know it would have to make me very cautious in my dealings with James, I'd have to stay aware of Jacob listening in on our conversation.

"Jacob doesn't lie. He looks out for me; he always has."

An idea occurred to me. "He looks out for himself," I said. "You just happen to be part of the packaged deal, for the moment. But do you honestly believe he'll happy with being just a tiny piece of consciousness forever? I've thought many things about you, James, but never before naive."

I hoped to make James paranoid enough of Jacob to keep him from inhabiting his body again. I didn't know if it would work, or if it did for how long it would, but it was the only plan I had for the moment.

Meanwhile, I tried stretching and pulling at the rope around my wrists, trying the break through its last remaining threads. I had to be careful not to bring attention to what I was doing, and risk having a new rope tied around me.

James took another swing at my face, striking me across the mouth. I could tell that he busted my lip open this time, and could taste blood again. And once again, I found myself fighting not to black out. I knew that if I managed to survive this that my face would look like hell yet again. That was the very least of my worries, though.

"Don't call me naïve," he said.

Steeling myself against possible punishment I yelled, "Then stop acting naïve! Would you be happy with just a few minutes of consciousness here and there? Don't you think he's just waiting for the day when he's strong enough to take over your body? And you're just letting it happen! If that isn't naïve, I don't know what is."

I thought for sure he would hit me again, but instead he pulled back a little, saying, "You don't know what you're saying. You're not in your right mind. That hit against the wall has obviously made you confused. Jacob has always been there for me. _Always_."

I decided to take another chance. "He was the one who Edward saw kill that dog, wasn't he?"

_Smack._ Another crack across my face. I needed to remember that while James wasn't as dangerous as Jacob, he was still dangerous in his own right.

"I told you not to say his name again!" he yelled.

"It was a slip! I didn't do it on purpose. I'm sorry," I lied.

"This isn't a game, Isabella. Don't think you can play me. Jacob has been there for me when no one else was. He's proved his loyalty over and over again. Don't think you can play me against him, I'm not an idiot."

"I'm not playing you, I'm just pointing out what it looks like from an outsider's point of view. I don't want to see you get hurt by him," I said, feeling sick at having to act like I was even the slightest bit concerned over his well being.

"So you're just worried about me?"

"Yes. I don't want to lose you to him."

He pondered that for a moment before deciding to answer my question. "The dog was Jacob. I knew Cullen would tell you about that, try to poison you towards me. It wasn't a big deal, just a dog, one the neighbors didn't even take care of. We were doing it a favor."

"And what about crashing Cullen's car after? Was that Jacob, too?"

"No. We didn't do that. Cullen was lying about that."

"No he wasn't, James. Emmett and Alice both confirmed his story."

"Then they all lied! I asked Jacob about it and he didn't know what I was talking about. We didn't crash that damn car. Cullen lied to get me kicked out of school. He was jealous of me and he was a lying bastard. He wanted to fuck up my life. Well, he succeeded. But now I'm fucking up his life, so who has the last laugh?"

"James, how come you don't seem to remember what goes on when Jacob takes over?" I asked, hesitantly.

"It's just how it works. Neither of us is aware of what happens while the other is in charge. He doesn't know what's going on while I'm in charge, either."

"Now he's the one lying," I said.

"What? What do you mean?"

"When he was here, he had complete understanding of what had happened while you were in charge. He slipped right in and knew what we'd just been talking about."

"That's...that's impossible. I didn't have time to tell him anything before the switch. You must just be confused."

"While I guess that's possible, I don't think so. You weren't there, you didn't see what happened when he took over. He had been following along with our conversation, he knew exactly what was going on."

"Shut up."

"I'm just letting you know, James. Just making sure you know what happens when you're not here. Whatever he's been saying to you, I don't think he has your best interests at heart. Not in the least. First, he killed that dog, making E...er Cullen think there was something wrong with you. Then he totalled Cullen's car, getting you sent off to a boarding school. Now he plans to kill me to hurt Cullen."

"That's a lie!" he screamed.

"It's not. I heard it from his own mouth...from your own mouth. He's going to kill me, no matter what you have planned."

"Shut up! Sut up, shut up, shut up!"

He was pacing around the cavern again, almost violent in his movements. I could see I had pushed him too far, but I hadn't been able to stop myself. If he could offer me any help against Jacob, he had to know what was going on, had to become aware of exactly how much power he was giving to Jacob.

Then it happened. His pacing stopped and he slowly turned to face me and I knew before he even opened his mouth that the change had taken place again. Jacob was back.

"Bitch. You thought you could fuck with me? Turn my boy against me? Clever little bitch...or it would have been clever, if you hadn't failed."

He stalked towards me as he talked and I could see from the gleam in his eyes that I was in trouble. I started pulling frantically on the rope around my wrists, ignoring the pain doing so caused. I started kicking out with my legs, knowing it wouldn't do me any good but needing to move somehow.

He laughed at my frantic attempts to break free of my binds. "That's right, bitch, you better be fucking scared. I'm going to hurt you good. By the time I'm done playing with you, you're going to be begging me to end your life."

With that, he dropped down in front of me and procured a knife from in the back of his pants and held it threateningly in front of my face. "It would be a shame to damage that pretty little face so early, so we'll save that for later...but that doesn't mean we can't play."

Tears were running down my face again. I closed my eyes and silently begged anyone listening to help me get out of this situation. When the knife cut across my left shoulder, I cried out, unable to stop myself. His answering laugh made me hate him even more, if that was possible.

I opened my eyes to see him watching the blood run down the knife blade with fascination. He looked at me and winked before wiping the blade off on my shirt. "Nothing I hate more than a dirty blade," he said, and then sliced across my right thigh. Again, I couldn't stop myself from crying out.

Before I thought through what I was about to do, I swung my arms out and knocked the blade out of his hands. He looked surprised, but I could see excitement there, as well. I think he was happy to see me attempting to fight back.

"Now, now, you shouldn't go lashing out like that, it's bad for your health. I need something to do with my hands, and if I don't have the knife in my hands, I'm just going to have to improvise."

Slowly, he brought his hands up to my throat, encircling it menacingly. My breathing became erratic as fear took over, knowing I was most likely about to die. With a look of supreme pleasure on his face, he started to tighten his hands. I struggled to pull out of his grip, but he was leaning over me and he just crushed me back into the wall.

His grip tightened, cutting off my air supply. I brought my hands up and tried pushing against him, hoping to force him off me. He responded by kneeling on my body, and applying more pressure on my throat. I began violently struggling underneath him, trying in vein to push him off. The more I struggled, the more panicked I became.

It was useless. He was larger than me, stronger than me, and he wanted to see me suffer and die. No one was coming to my rescue and I wasn't even going to be able to rescue myself. I had played the wrong hand, and it was going to cost me my life.

Tears streamed down my face as I thought about everyone I loved, everyone I wouldn't have the chance to say goodbye to. I was glad that I had at least been able to tell Edward I loved him before I died; glad I got to experience love.

I tried grasping for air but, of course, nothing happened. I felt my body twitch and looked up to see a look of sheer pleasure on Jacob's face. He was getting off on watching me die.

I felt a hatred like I had never know before swell up inside of me, followed immediately by overwhelming sadness. And then, finally, my world went black.

**A/N:**

_Well, there you go. What did you think? Love to get your feedback! ;o)  
_

_Next chapter should be up in a few days. Only a couple left now..._


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N:**

_First, I need to give props to one of my readers, _EvE656721,_ who caught an error in the last chapter. It was a fairly big one, too, so a big thanks for that and a 'you rock'! lol  
_

_Thanks as usual to everyone who takes the time to read, and especially those who review. Your reviews help me stay motivated to get the next chapter up, so thank you._

_Not much else to say. This is a fairly short one, but I think it served its purpose. __Hope you like it and I'll see you after. :o)_

**Emmett**

I sat in the back of Carlisle's car in a state of shock. I couldn't believe we had underestimated James like this, allowing him to get his hands on Bella. I couldn't believe we had failed her. I felt sick from guilt and fear. If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself.

"Any ideas where we should start?" Carlisle asked as he pulled out of our driveway.

"He has her in a cave somewhere," Alice answered.

I thought about that for a minute, trying to decide where James would go if he was trying to hide out, where he would feel safest. Instinctively I knew he'd be heading to high ground. He'd want to be far enough away from town to be safe, but not so far that he couldn't access civilization if he needed to. Finally I said, "Drive towards La Push. There's a series of caves up along where the mountains meet the coast, I'm betting he'll be hiding out somewhere along there."

Alice, sitting in the front passenger seat, turned around to look at me. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"No, but it's my best guess, and unless someone else has an idea, it's our only guess."

She cast a worried glance at Edward before nodding her head and facing forward again. Carlisle had already started heading in that direction so there was nothing left to say for the moment. We lapsed into silence again.

I looked over at Edward, sitting next to me in the backseat. I knew Alice was worried about him and, truth be told, so was I. Even considering the situation, his reaction was extreme. He wasn't just scared and upset, he actually seemed transformed. It was like something had taken over his body, and he hadn't even bothered trying to fight it off.

I absolutely knew that my brother loved Bella. He had fallen hard and fast for her, but I was confident his feelings for her weren't just some passing phase. If I had thought his feelings for her weren't true, I wouldn't have just sat back and watched him chase her like I had. I loved my brother, but there was just something about Bella that made me love her, too. It was like I had instantly gained a little sister. In a completely non-romantic way, I often found myself wondering if Bella and I had been meant to meet. But then I'd see her and Edward together and I would realize that I was just on the peripheral of this particular destiny. Bella and I might have been destined to be friends, maybe even to have a sibling-like relationship, but Bella and Edward were meant to find a happily ever after together, of that I had no doubt.

So when Edward shut down after Alice's premonition, it threw me through a loop. How could he give up on her so easily? Just shut down like that. It worried me, made me wonder if my assessment of his feelings for her were somehow wrong. Because if it had been Rose kidnapped like that, I would have been out the door before anyone could stop me. Hell, if Edward hadn't lost his mind and started attacking the goddamned house, I would have done the same thing when we realized Bella was missing.

I admit, I'm not a complicated man, but I believe there are three absolutes to life if you want to get through it with any semblance of happiness and honor. The first is learn how to rely on yourself in times of need...but know how to recognize when you're swimming in water too deep, and in need of a helping hand. The second is never get involved in a land war in Asia. And finally, never walk out on the ones you love, you just don't leave a man behind like that. And while Edward might not have physically walked out on Bella, he definitely had walked out on some level.

Alice kept peering at me over her shoulder, her face etched with fear and concern, then trying to sneak a peak at Edward. I could see Carlisle surreptitiously watching Edward in the rearview mirror. The atmosphere in the car was tense, and I knew it wasn't just from Bella being missing. We were all afraid of the stranger sitting next to me. Earlier he had been the Edward we all knew and loved, now, well now I dont think we knew who he was.

"Can you tell me anything about the cave you saw her in?" I asked Alice, in an attempt to break the silence and ease some of the tension.

"I couldn't see anything outside the cave but I got a good view of the inside. It was a large circular room. It had high ceilings and didn't seem to have any passages in it, besides the one leading out. It didn't look familiar to me, and it didn't feel familiar to Bella, either."

"You could feel what she was feeling?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it was like I was her. When she di...I, I could just feel everything she was feeling." She had turned white at the mention of feeling Bella dying, and I knew she stopped herself from going on for Edward's sake, though it didn't seem to help.

"Stop the car!" Edward yelled. Carlisle jerked the steering wheel in surprise before pulling over. Edward opened his door before we'd even come to a complete stop and puked over the side. I turned away, giving him some privacy.

My brother never threw up. When we'd all get sick with the flu, he was the only one who wouldn't end up praying to the porcelain god. I wasn't sure if he just had a stronger stomach that the rest of us, or if he actually willed himself to not lose the contents of his stomach; either way, I'd never known him to throw up. So I think seeing him react to the idea of Bella's death by puking out the door of the car, I was able to finally understand what was going on with my brother, or at lest guess at it.

My brother wasn't like the rest of us, I think that in a lot of ways he was better than the rest of us, less selfish, more giving. He put the needs and wants of his loved ones over his own almost every time. He'd been so worried about giving Alice and me the lives we wanted, with the people we'd chosed, that he had to let go of his own life in a way; and he did, without ever once complaining to us about it. His loyalty, love, and devotion were all-encompassing, for as long as he believed you deserved it.

Yet, for all of the people he loved, and all of us who loved him in return, I think he had been very lonely, probably more so than even I realized. He never complained, never let on that he was anything but happy. But I knew him enough to know he wouldn't want us to worry about him, so he would do everything he could to hide such feelings from us.

Then, one day Bella arrived on the scene and he felt this immediate connection to her, this immediate attraction, and that scared the shit out of him. He was so afraid of what she could mean to him that he acted crazy for a while, afraid to go near her, afraid of what loving her could mean. But despite all of his efforts, she proved to be a temptation he couldn't resist. So he opened his heart and soul to her, knowing she would have the power to destroy him. In the typical Edward way, he gave her all that he had to give, and for a little while his world was perfect, might have stayed perfect long enough to take him into happily ever after territory, if it hadn't been for James.

He had gone to bed on cloud nine, happier than he'd probably ever been. When he woke up, it was to find out that the woman he loved had been kidnapped and was now possibly dead. I knew a piece of his soul had to have died in that moment. Here he was, forced to face the possibility that his girlfriend was already dead, but also racked with guilt that he had failed to protect her. If that wasn't bad enough, I knew he would also be blaming himself for bringing this on her; I knew this was a guilt that we all would face, whether we found her alive or not. James never would have focused on her like he had, if we hadn't given him a reason to.

I could hear Edward retch one last time, spit a few times, then heard him sit back up and slam the door shut. When I turned to look at him, I could see tears streaking his face. "Edward?" Carlisle asked, and I knew he'd noticed the tears as well.

"Please, just drive," he said, his voice breaking from the weight of the agony he was facing.

I'd never felt as bad for anyone in my life as I did for my brother in that moment. Faced with the possible loss of Bella, he had become a broken shell. I reached over and took hold of his hand and gave it a hard squeeze, before releasing it and staring out the window. He wouldn't appreciate comfort right now.

**Alice**

I shoved my palm into my mouth and bit down, hoping that focusing on the pain would keep me from crying out in despair. I was trying to be strong for my brother's sake, and for Bella's sake, but hearing my brother's shattered voice as he asked Carlisle to drive had cost me too much in the composure department. I was trying to hold it together, but I knew I wouldn't be able to last through much more.

I got myself composed again, then wiped the tears from my face. I could do this, I knew I could. We would find Bella, she would still be alive, and it would all work out okay. I closed my eyes and prayed that this would prove true.

As we neared La Push, I looked down at my watch and realized that Esme, Rose, and Jasper would have already made it to the police station by now. I decided to call them now, before we reached La Push. I didn't want anything distracting us from our search of Bella, not even the police search for her.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Jasper's number. It rang a few times before he had answered, and as soon as he did I could hear the activity and confusion in the background. "Where are you?" he asked before I'd even had a chance to say anything.

"We're at La Push. Emmett thinks there's a chance he'll have her stashed up in one of the caves here. What's going on there?"

"Charlie's sent some people over to the Black's house, but we haven't heard anything back from them. He has someone working on calling everyone on his contact list to see if they've seen her, and he's working on getting a search party going. We're trying to get them to focus on places with caves, but he's too afraid we'll miss finding her if we concentrate our efforts in such a way. How are you guys holding up?"

I paused before answering, trying to decide what to say. Finally, I decided to go with the simplest answer. "Not so good. That won't change until we find her, though. How's Charlie?"

"He's shook up and worried, but considering how limited the information he's working on is, it's more a generalized fear than anything else. Even knowing how much simpler it would be if he knew what we knew, I'm almost glad he doesn't; he's spared some of this fear. There will be time enough later for that, should the need arise."

I agreed with him. I wished I had considered that before I let Edward into my premonition. I could have controlled how much information he had, and spared him some of this agony. I had been reacting out of fear, though, and knew that even if I had kept him out of my premonition he would have known from my reaction what was going on.

I sighed with regret, then made myself move on to the next topic. "Will you guys keep us updated with what's happening with the search? We'll try to do the same for you. Maybe we should just text unless something important comes up, it might be easier."

"With the chaos around here, texting would definitely be easier. I'll call you when we know anything real, and you do the same."

"All right. Good luck to you guys," I felt compelled to say.

"To you guys, too," he said, then hung up.

I put my phone in my pocket and looked around. We were coming up to where the mountains and the coast collided, along where La Push was. This is where the series of caves Emmett was talking about was. Though I'd never explored them, I knew that there was a bunch of them scattered throughout the forests covering the side of the mountains, with only one or two right near the road, and I doubted those would be the ones James would holed up in.

I wondered how we'd find the right cave, knowing James would have whatever car he was using stashed far out of sight. I allowed myself to acknowledge the hopelessness of the situation before I asked, "Any ideas, Emmett?"

It was Carlisle who answered, though. "There's a dirt road up here that heads up into the woods. It's mainly used to get to hunting areas, but it accesses a bunch of the caves, and is the shortest route to a bunch of the others. Do you want to try there?"

"Yeah, I think that would be our best starting point," Emmett answered.

Edward still sat quietly in the back seat, but I could just feel the intensity radiating off of him now that we were closer to the caves. Whether he believed there was still a chance at finding Bella alive, or he was just hoping to get a chance at coming face to face with James, I don't know.

I had to admit to myself that I was terrified of him getting his hands on James. No matter what happened, I didn't want murder on my brother's hands, no matter how justified it might be. I didn't want to lose both Bella and Edward, and I knew saving Edward if Bella was killed would be hard enough without adding murder charges into the mix.

For the first time, I allowed myself to think about James, about what would bring him to this point. I felt him kill Bella, and whether that had happened yet or not, I now knew that it was something he was capable of. I thought back to the boy we knew in childhood and wondered what could have gone so wrong with him that he had been brought to this. There had always been a dark side to James, but I never thought it could ever bring him to this.

I felt sadness, anger, and confusion when I thought about the monster he seemed to have become. I wondered if we had failed him in some way. Even if we had, I knew that nothing could ever excuse his kidnapping of Bella. I made myself acknowledge that the boy we had known in childhood was gone, and in his place was a complete stranger, one filled with anger and hatred. I only hoped that whatever the outcome in this, we could save my brother from becoming the same thing.

We turned down the dirt road and I shut my thoughts down to focus on my search. Since it was still dark out, we'd brought flashlights with us to help us search. Carlisle had the high beams turned on and Emmett and I each had a flash light to use to search out or windows with. I scanned the forest around us, looking for any of the caves, or for signs of James and Bella. We had slowed down to just a little over a crawl, knowing that while time was of the essence, we couldn't risk missing out on spotting the place he might be keeping her, the darkness making doing so that much more likely. It would be torture to do so, but we had to take our time so we wouldn't go right by where he was keeping her.

When we would come to up to a cave, we would stop and Emmett, Carlisle, and I would go check it out, see if it was the one. Edward would sit unmoving in the back of the car and I think that he somehow knew before we even looked that the caves we were investigating would be empty.

We continued on this way for about an hour, slowly weaving through the forest, trying to find any signs of them. Jasper and I were texting updates back and forth – the search party had been formed and they had split to cover different areas – all the while, I was getting more scared for Bella's sake.

I couldn't think about what she must be going through right now, because I knew doing so would give the fear too much of a hold in me. I was able to keep moving because I was focusing on nothing but doing just that. Even so, I felt my edges start to fray more and more with each empty cave we encountered. The only positive thing to happen during that time was the sun was starting to rise, which would make searching easier; Twilight was upon us finally, for which I was thankful for.

We had just come upon a really dense part of the woods when we went round a curve and I heard Emmett's intake of breath right before he called out, "Wait, what's that!"

I turned, trying to see which direction he was looking to locate whatever it was he was reacting to, but was distracted by the sound of the door across from him slamming open. I turned just in time to see Edward jump out of the car before Carlisle even had the chance to slow it down. I watched to see where he was going, still confused about what was happening.

Then, finally I saw what Emmett had seen to make him cry out, and what Edward was now running after. My stomach dropped and I cried out, "Oh, God!" before slamming my door open and following after my brother...

**A/N:**

_haha, you ready to kill me yet for the cliff hangers? ;op_

_There is so much I want to say about this chapter, but can't yet because it will give too much away. **So** much. As I can't talk about any of the things I want to talk about, I won't say anything besides thanks for reading and hope you liked it! Drop me a line or two, letting me know what you thought. Cheers!  
_


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N:**

_Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys! It means a lot to me :o)_

_Before anyone asks, the James/Jacob switches in this chapter are intentional. When she refers to him in reference to anyone who doesn't know about Jacob, she'll call him James. When dealing with the man who wants to kill her, she'll call him Jacob._

_Anyway, hope you enjoy it!_

**Bella**

I came to again with a gasp. Reflexively, I took a deep breath and instantly started choking. I coughed and sputtered, trying to catch my breath. I thought there was a good chance my windpipe had been damaged when James, or Jacob I should say, strangled me. My body was violently shaking, tears streamed down my cheeks. I leaned over and dry heaved, but there was nothing left at that point to come up.

Jacob's hands were no longer around my neck, but I knew within seconds of gaining consciousness that I wasn't out of danger yet. He was kneeling about a foot away from me, watching as I tried to gain some semblance of control. He looked like he was taking pleasure from the pain I was going through, making me hate him all the more.

The hopelessness of the situation overwhelmed me. I wasn't going to escape. No one was going to rescue me, Jacob wasn't going to let me die quickly, he was going to get as much pleasure as he could by torturing me for as long as he could before finally killing me. In my despair, I closed my eyes and prayed for death, swift and merciful, knowing my prayers would go unanswered.

I let my body slowly sink over till I was laying on my side on the ground. I closed my eyes and let the tears come. I would make myself be strong and face this ordeal with what little strength I had left, but first I needed a moment to grieve.

I wished I'd been able to say goodbye to everyone. I thought of poor Charlie, who by now must have realized I was gone and who was probably freaking out. I thought about him having to call my mom to tell her that I'd been taken, that they hadn't reached me in time. I thought about the pain they'd have to go through, losing their only child.

I thought about the Cullens and the guilt they'd probably feel if it ever came out that James was the one to kill me. I mourned for the friendships I'd finally found, only to lose them in death just a short time later. I thought of Alice, Rose, Jasper, and Emmett, isolated from their peers because they dared to love, finally finding a friend again, only to have her yanked away from them again. I thought of Esmee and Carlisle, who'd watched life being breathed back into their house, and wondered if they'd still feel glad that I'd come into their children's life once my death sucked that life out again.

Most of all, I thought of Edward. Edward, the boy who'd taught me to love. Edward, who had my heart and soul, and who had freely given me his. I let myself remember the little moments we'd shared. Painfully, I replayed the moments when we'd told the other we loved them, glad we'd at least had the chance to do so before I died.

I worried Edward wouldn't survive this. Would I have been able to survive, if it had been him here instead of me? If he had been the one to die? I didn't think so. I think I would have been too broken to go on after that. I felt sure I would have done everything in my power to follow him, after I had gone after and killed James first. With a silent curse, I realized that was probably what Edward would do. He wouldn't be able to rest until he'd chased James down and made him pay for what he did. Even if he did survive all of this, he'd either end up dead at James' hands, or charged with James' murder.

Anger replaced the sadness inside of me. Anger at my fate, anger at what would most likely be Edward's fate. The man responsible for the destruction of our lives was sitting just a foot away from me, and he was basking in the pain radiating off me. I shook with hatred.

I swiped at the tears on my face with my still bound hands. Then, with one last deep breath for courage, I slammed my hands into the dirt and shoved, pushing myself into a sitting position. I glowered at the man sitting across from me; he smiled in return.

I returned his smile with one of my own, though I knew it wouldn't reach my eyes. When I saw the confusion on his face I said in a raspy voice I barely recognized, "Fuck you, you sick piece of shit." Then, before he had time to react, I threw my hands over my head and used them as leverage against the wall, kicking out my legs with all the strength I had left, slamming him in the chest with my feet.

He was thrown backwards, and I knew I kicked him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. I used the rock still cradled in my hands to finish slicing through the rope bound around my wrists. My feet were still tied together, and I knew I wouldn't have time to get them loose again before Jacob recovered, so instead I dived a few feet to my side where a large rock had been sitting. I grabbed hold of it, knowing I'd be able to use it as a weapon. I might not live through this, but I wasn't going down without a goddamned fight.

I rolled over just in time to see Jacob come at me with his knife. I tried to block him, but he was too fast. Quick as the snake he was, he managed to pin me down and stab me in the shoulder. I cried out in pain, and would have been in trouble had he stabbed me in the arm holding the rock. Luckily the other arm had been the closer one, which meant I still had the strength in the arm holding the rock to swing it up and hit him in the side of the head. He rolled off me, leaving the knife embedded in my shoulder.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and squirmed away from him, towards the exit. I was surprised I was still moving, but knew I had to be working on pure adrenaline. I realized I'd have to get my feet loose if I had any plans of trying for a real escape, so with a deep breath I grabbed the hilt of the knife and pulled with all of my might. My scream echoed through the cavern, and it was only through sheer willpower that I didn't black out again; I knew that if I did, I'd be dead for sure.

I looked over to see Jacob still laying on the ground, apparently not recovered from the hit to his head yet. I now had both the knife and the rock, but knew I was too weak to offer up much of a fight. I tried to stand up to walk out of the cave, but collapsed in a heap on the floor. Silently screaming at myself to get up and get moving, I got up on my hands and knees and started crawling to the mouth of the cavern.

I'd gotten about halfway there when Jacob slammed into my from behind, sending us both rolling on the dirt floor. Both the knife and rock were thrown from my grip, so when James pinned me down I was once again defenseless. He sat on my stomach, making it almost impossible for me to move, then he reached up and started strangling me again.

My mind screamed out in outrage at finding myself in this position again, while my body jerked from fear. My hands reached up and wrapped around Jacob's wrists, trying to pry his hands away from my neck. It was no use, he was too strong. I knew I had to do something or I was going to die. My legs were on the wrong side of him to do any good, his weight made it impossible for me to push him off of me in the hopes of rolling out from under him, and I wasn't able to pull his hands off of my neck. It seemed hopeless.

Out of desperation I slammed the palm of my hand up into his nose as hard as I could, hearing the crack as it connected. Jacob's head flew back and his hands released my neck. I gasped, once again inhaling much needed oxygen. If I wanted to live, I didn't have time to allow my body the time it so desperately needed to recover.

Jacob was distracted by the blood pouring out of his nose and, I was guessing, the pain. I used his distraction to my advantage and slammed my body up into his as hard as I could, rolling him off of me and to the side. When he landed on his side I rolled away from him and looked around for a weapon. Unfortunately, both the rock and knife landed too far away from me to be of any real use, and there was nothing else I could see that would make do as a weapon. Giving up on the search, I started crawling towards the exit again, but hadn't gotten very far when I felt Jacob approach me from the rear.

"Bitch," he said, then started kicking me in my side. My arms and legs gave out and I landed on the dirt floor. Instead of finding relief, I felt Jacob's foot as it impacted with my side again. I grunted in pain and tried to curl up into a ball to protect myself. I was pinned between him and the wall, with no weapon, no strength left, and nothing but my brain to get me out of the situation.

"You think you can escape me, Isabella?" _kick _"You think," _kick _"that I'm," _kick _"just going to," _kick _"let you fucking," _kick_ "crawl out of here?" _kick_

Each kick brought with it a grunt of pain from me, and in between each kick I moved my body slightly, turning so that my stomach faced him. Finally I was in position, and when his leg shot out and connected to my stomach, I ignored the pain and wrapped my body around his leg, then rolled myself towards the wall with everything I had left in me.

Already off-balance from his leg being up in the air, my rolling over was just enough to topple him. He slammed into the wall of the cave, his head cracking into it as he went. He crumbled from the hit, pinning me as he fell. Not even allowing myself the time to catch my breath, I shoved at him and wiggled until I managed to role him over and off of me. I looked him over, finally deciding the hit had knocked him unconscious.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, then used the wall to help pull myself up onto my feet. I had to inch my way up, but finally I found myself standing. I hobbled over to where the knife had fallen, deciding it would be best to arm myself just in case Jacob woke up again, and started dragging myself to the cavern opening.

Before I'd taken three steps in that direction, I turned around and walked back to Jacob. I stared down at him in disgust for a moment, before picking my leg up and kicking him in the side. When that seemed to make me feel a little better, I did it again, and then again. Deciding that was all I the strength I had left in me, I turned around and headed outside.

I had to push past a couple of bushes blocking the mouth of the cavern to get free of that horrible place. I made my way down a little hill the cavern was situated on slowly and carefully. I worried that at any moment my strength would give out on me and I would pass-out again, leaving myself completely exposed if Jacob regained consciousness. I knew that if I couldn't find help fairly quickly, I'd have to look for some place hidden to give my body a chance to rest before continuing on. I'd feel vulnerable and exposed having to hide out someplace close to the cavern where Jacob was, but knew it might be the only thing that saved my life in the end.

When I got to the bottom of the little hill, I turned around to look up at the cave I'd been held hostage in. Though it was still dark it was starting to get light and looking around, I could see no signs of Jacob anywhere, allowing me to breathe a little easier. I decided to give myself a few seconds to rest before moving on.

I took stock of my body. I was in bad shape. I'd been stabbed and sliced up, which meant that I was losing blood. I possibly had a concussion, I thought there was a pretty good chance that I was dehydrated, possibly one or more of my ribs were broken, and I was bruised, to say the least. My body felt broken and I knew I would have to adress my bleeding soon or suffer the dangers of too much blood loss.

I analyzed the hillside the cave was located on and realized it was pretty much the perfect spot to stash away someone you'd kidnapped. Unless you were right up on it you wouldn't have been able to tell a cave was even there. There was no clear path leading up to it and the bushes in front of its entrance totally obscured the mouth of the cave. No matter how long Jacob might have kept me there, I most likely never would have been found, even if rescuers ended up searching this area, which I doubted they would have.

Knowing I'd been standing in one place for too long, I decided I needed to get going again. I looked around, trying to get my bearings. Nothing looked familiar and it looked like we were possibly miles from anything or anyone. I couldn't tell how far we were from civilization but I didn't think we were anywhere close, and for a second I started to panic that I made it out of the cave only to wind up dead somewhere in this wilderness, too lost to find help in time. I forced myself to calm down and think rationally.

I could tell that I was on an slope. The cave was up on a hill, but the hill seemed to be part of a larger incline. I was pretty sure we were along the edge of the mountains somewhere, which meant that I thought it would be best to head down...and it would certainly be easiest for my broken body to do so.

Making up my mind and fearful of anymore time lost, I started walking again. I could see the sun was maybe half an hour or so from rising and I thought this was both a blessing and a curse. It would make it easier for me to navigate through my way through the dense woods, but it would also make it easier for Jacob to track and find me. With determination, I quickened my steps as much as I thought my body could handle. I needed to put as much distance between me and the cave as possible.

The entire time I walked I kept an ear open for any sound of running water in the area. I'd have a much better chance of survival if I could find a place to hide out near a source of water. So far, though, I'd heard no sounds to indicate that any water was nearby.

I tripped over a rock I hadn't noticed and went sprawling onto the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt as I landed. I laid there with my head on the ground for a few moments, allowing the misery I had been fighting off to engulf me. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get myself back up again, and I had yet to find a safe place to hide out. If Jacob gained consciousness, I wasn't at all confident that he wouldn't find me again if I ended up passed out where I was.

I lifted my head up and spit out the dirt in my mouth, gagging a little as I did so. I was so thirsty at this point that the dirt in my mouth was almost torture to me. I had no saliva left to clear my mouth, but spit out as much of the dirt as I possibly could. I would have probably cried again at this point, if I had any fluid left in my body to do so.

I tried to stand back up again, but my body collapsed under me. I searched the ground around me in hopes of finding a nice sized branch I could use to help me stand up, like a walking stick. I couldn't believe my luck when my hand wrapped around a decent sized stick, hoping this meant my day had taken a turn for the better. I used this to help me get myself up off the ground. It was a slow process, but I finally managed to get myself upright and was so thankful to the stick for its assistance I decided I needed to give it a name.

As I hobbled along with my stick I tried to come up with a name for it and finally, with a laugh, decided I'd call it Wilson. My laugh sounded foreign to my ears and I thought about how odd a concept humor seemed to me at this point. I had a hard time imagining ever being able to feel happy again after this.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the depressing thoughts that had entered it. I knew if I managed to reach civilization and get to safety again that I'd probably feel a happiness greater than I'd ever felt before.

A couple of times I almost tripped and fell again, but Wilson saved me. Wilson was turning out to be my hero and I was eternally grateful to him for so willingly stepping up to the plate. I knew that if I made it out of this alive, I'd bring Wilson home with me and mount him on my bedroom wall as a way of thanking him for his help.

I started to think it was time to give up on getting to safety or finding water, and instead find a safe place to hole up. I could tell my body was declining quickly, and I didn't think I had long before it gave out on me. Fear that I'd overestimated my strength made me search around frantically for a good place to hide.

I realized a second before it happened that my body was about to give out on me, and this time even Wilson was unable to help keep me upright. I sank down and with Wilson's help managed to land on one knee, with the other up in front of me. I knew he was responsible for me not finding myself planted face first onto the ground again and decided that perhaps he deserved better than my bedroom, that maybe I'd have him mounted in Charlie's living room if we ever made it back.

I tried to push myself back up again, knowing I was still exposed. This time though, even with Wilson's help I was unable to get myself back up. My body had decided it had had enough, and was in the midst of mounting a very effective revolt against my brain.

Seeing the sun just about to come up and knowing that it would now only offer me danger instead of hope, I rested my head against Wilson and sobbed tearlessly. I knew that even if Jacob didn't stumble on me before I regained consciousness, spending the day exposed to the sun while already dehydrated probably would be the death of me. The trees overhead offered some protection, but I feared not enough to keep me safe.

I was too tired to do anything but sit there in my misery. I'd tried so hard to save myself. I'd fought Jacob and won, I'd pushed my body with everything I had, even when it had nothing left to give, and still I'd die out here without being able to say goodbye to those I loved. I cursed Jacob again. I cursed whatever almighty being up in the sky was allowing this to happen, but most of all, I cursed my body for giving out on me.

I don't know how long I sat there like that knowing I'd have to wait patiently for death to take me, until I heard the noise. Probably not long as the sun was only just making its way up in the sky. I could barely lift my head up to look around and determine what I was hearing, but knew I needed to figure out what was making the noise, so forced my head up.

At first, everything was too blurry for me to make any real determination about what I was seeing. Finally my vision cleared and I knew I must have started to hallucinate, because I thought I was seeing a car approaching me.

I watched with a detached curiosity as the object of my hallucinations got to about two hundred yards away from me. I was mildly surprised to see a person throw themselves out of my still moving hallucination, hit the ground in a role, jump up and come running towards me.

For a moment I panicked as it came charging at me, wondering if hallucinations could hurt you, before I recognized Edward and relaxed. Of course I would hallucinate Edward, that only made sense, I'd want him here with me at the end.

I could hear him screaming out my name over and over again, and the sound of pain in his voice almost shattered me. What a cruel thing my mind was, sending me my Edward to be here with me at my end but making me witness the pain my death would cause him. It was too much for me to bear.

Then my Edward hallucination dropped to his knees and came sliding at me through the dirt, and when his arms wrapped around me I realized it wasn't the arms of a hallucination but of a real live person.

"Edward?" I croaked in disbelief, my voice still raspy from having been strangled by Jacob.

"You're alive! Oh my god, you're still alive. Oh god, Bella, I thought you were dead. I thought I'd never see you again. Oh, baby, thank god you're alive. I love you. I'm so sorry, and I love you," he said frantically. I realized somewhat dazedly that his cheeks were wet, that he was crying.

I allowed myself for the first time to think that maybe I was finally safe, that I'd make it out of this alive after all. I let myself lean into him, too tired to even bring my arms up to wrap around him. His arms tightened around me as I heard the sound of others approaching, and for a minute I feared that Jacob had found me and would attack Edward, but then realized it was Emmett and Alice.

"Is she all right?" I heard Emmett ask in a voice full of concern.

"I don't know...where's Carlisle?" Edward answered, sounding raw and full of pain.

His reaction to Emmett's question made me wonder whether I was too quick in thinking I'd make it out of this all right after all. Maybe I was in even worse shape than I had thought. Before I could dwell too much on it, Alice came up behind Emmett, answering Edward's question. "He's coming, he's getting his kit from in the car."

"Edward," I managed to squeak out, not really sure what I was going to say.

"It's okay, Bella, we're here with you. You'll be okay, I promise."

His hand came up and entwined itself into my hair. I tried focusing on what I wanted to say but couldn't get past Edward's arms wrapped around me. Feeling safe for the first time in I didn't know how long, I let my mind float away and lost consciousness again.

I was in and out of consciousness as Carlisle did an evaluation of my injuries. I woke up from the pain when he wrapped up the shoulder Jacob had stabbed. I blacked out again until Edward lifted me up and started walking towards the car. I could hear their voices constantly floating around me but couldn't make out anything they were saying.

I woke again when they got me in the car. I couldn't see who was in the drivers seat, but I was still in Edward's arms and Carlisle was sitting next to us, I guess deciding he should be close to me in case something happened. I could hear doors slam, causing me to come to consciousness with a gasp.

"Wilson!" I tried yelling, realizing I'd left him where I had fallen.

"What did she say?" I could hear Carlisle asking.

"I'm not sure. Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked.

I tried again. "Wilson! I forgot him."

"Who is Wilson?" Edward asked, clearly confused.

"My stick. Please, go get my stick. I can't leave him."

"She's hallucinating," I could hear Emmett say from somewhere in the front seat.

"No! Please, I need my stick. I can't leave him here!" I got out frantically, my voice gaining strength in my panic.

The idea of leaving my stick behind after he had saved my life was just too upsetting for me. Part of me knew that I wasn't being rational, the other part needed my damn stick to come with me. I knew having it with me would make me feel safer and I had no plans of leaving without it.

Finally Carlisle said, "Emmett, go find the stick."

"But we're wasting time that could be used to get her to the hospital," he argued.

"Emmett, please," I got out on a whisper.

That seemed to be enough to get him moving. "Okay, I'll be back in a minute."

I think I blacked out again, because I came to with a jerk when the door closest to me opened and Emmett shoved my stick into the car across our laps. I allowed myself a small smile as I wrapped my hand around it then laid my head in Edward's lap, allowing my body to take over again I closed my eyes and promptly passed out again, this time for good.

**A/N:**

_So admit it, you totally thought Edward would be the knight in shinning armor, rescuing her and beating James. I'm tired of reading about the boy rescuing the girl. This time I wanted the girl to kick some ass and rescue herself...though I guess Edward did save her in the end lol._

_This was a fun one to write, and one I've been looking forward to for a long while. Really, though, I've been looking forward to the whole end sequence. I'm glad we're finally there and you guys get to see some of the things that have been floating around in my brain all of this time._

_Initially, there was going to be just three more chapters after this one, but the more I think about it the more I think I might need to add a chapter or two...or maybe just one, with two half chapters in it. We'll see how the next one goes I guess. But we're close to the end, that much I can tell you lol._

_Drop me a line to let me know what you thought. Sorry for all the cliffies, hope it was worth it for you in the end. ;o) Thanks everyone and see you soon!_

_~TCG_


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N:**

_Not much really to say here. Thanks as usual to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, and especially those of you who take the time to review. Your reviews are what keep me going! Just three chapters left from this point, almost there! Yay! _**  
**

**Alice**

Emmett put the car in drive and pulled it back around, using the little bit of clearing we'd found Bella at. I turned around to look at Bella in Edward's lap. She was unconscious again. The sight of her curled up in Edward's lap, so broken, brought tears to my eyes. We'd gotten to her in time, but just barely.

She was caked in dirt, from head to toe. Her hair was a big tangled mess of dirt, sweat, and blood. She was so banged up she was almost unrecognizable. She was bleeding from so many different places, too many to count. Seeing all of the blood on her frightened me, made me wonder if there was still enough in her to keep her alive.

Her clothes were torn in several places, attesting to her struggle. Her face was swollen, bruised and bleeding. Her lips were cracked and bleeding, both from injury and dehydration. I could already see bruising around her neck and knew that my premonition had been both right and wrong; James had strangled her, he just hadn't killed her while doing it.

Tears swelled up in my eyes, but I swiped them away, knowing that now wasn't the time to fall apart. Eventually I would let go of everything inside of me I was tightly holding in place, but not now, not yet.

"Is she going to be okay?" Edward asked frantically, breaking into my thoughts.

"Alice, get the coordinates off the GPS unit and call Charlie with them, tell him to send a team out here to look for James, and tell him if he wants to catch him he better make it fast. I don't know what happened in that cave, but if James is in any way able to travel, he'll be on the move as quickly as he can. Emmett, drive as fast as you safely can."

I grabbed the paper and pen Carlisle always kept in the glove compartment and used it to copy down our coordinates, all the while listening into the conversation taking place in the back seat.

"Carlisle, is she going to be all right?" Edward asked again with more insistance, trying to get an answer. I knew that Carlisle had purposely avoided answering the question the first time he had been asked, which made me afraid to hear what the answer would be.

I reached for my phone and started dialing while Carlisle answered him. "Edward, I don't know yet. I won't know until we get her to the hospital so she can be properly examined. She's lost a lot of blood and I'm worried she might have internal injuries. I...at this point, we just need to hope for the best."

"Chief Swan," Charlie answered on the other side of the phone. Hearing Charlie's voice on the line suddenly forced me to tune Carlisle and Edward out. I needed to be fully present for this conversation.

"Charlie, it's Alice. We found her. She's alive, but not in great shape. We're on our way to the hospital with her."

"Oh thank God," he said. "How bad is she?"

"We don't know yet. Carlisle doesn't want to say until he gets her to the hospital and checks her out. She's been through a lot, though. She's been conscious off and on, but mostly off."

"I'll meet you at the hospital," he said, ready to hang up.

"Wait, Charlie, there's more. I'm supposed to give you the coordinates to where we found her so you can send a team out here to pick James up. We're up by La Push; you know the hunting paths up along the coast?" When he said he did, I read him off the coordinates.

"You better tell whoever you send out here that it's going to be a search. We don't know how far he was from there."

"You guys didn't actually see James?"

"No, we found Bella crumpled on the ground by herself. She'd gotten herself away from him and it looks like she just started walking. We don't know what kind of shape James is in, if he's conscious and on the move or not. It's obvious she had to fight him off, so I'm guessing the fact that she got away means she disabled him somehow...I can't imagine him just letting her walk away from this otherwise."

"She hasn't told you how she got away?"

"She hasn't been conscious long enough to."

He was quiet for a moment, and I guessed that he was processing everything I had said. I could almost feel his anxiety for her rise for her, as he pictured the situation in which we'd found her. Finally he said, "All right. I'm sending a couple of teams out there and I'll meet you guys over at the hospital. Take care of her until I get there."

"We will, Charlie, I promise."

When we hung up I instantly dialed Jasper's number, knowing that the search teams were scattered and he probably wouldn't be near enough to Charlie to hear we'd found Bella.

"Any news?" he asked as soon as he answered.

"We found her," I said.

"Alive?" I could hear from the tone of his voice that he was almost afraid to ask.

"Just barely. She'd gotten away from James by herself. We found her out in the middle of the woods, just sort of kneeling on the grass like she just couldn't bring herself to go any farther. We're on our way to the hospital and Charlie is sending a couple of teams out here to look for James."

"How's Edward?"

"Scared." I lowered my voice and turned toward the window, away from Edward, even though I knew that everyone was so focused on Bella at the moment that they wouldn't be paying any attention to me. "We all are. Jasper, if you had seen her just sitting there, broken like she was...well, I'm actually glad you didn't."

There was a long pause while he took in this information. Finally he said simply, "We'll meet you at the hospital as soon as we can."

The rest of the car ride to the hospital was quiet, tense. Every once in a while I could hear Edward murmur words of encouragement to Bella, or hear Carlisle moving around as he checked Bella's pulse, but I think we were too scared for Bella to do much else.

Finally we made it to the hospital and Emmett pulled right up to the ambulance docking bay. We all jumped out of the car, Edward carrying Bella, and ran into the ER. Carlisle started issuing orders to nurses almost the second we were through the front doors. Though I could tell they were caught off guard, once they saw that it was Carlisle doing the ordering they jumped in and started helping out. Before I knew it we were swarmed by ER staff, and Emmett and I were forced to back off or get in the way.

I had no intentions of waiting around in the waiting room, though. I'd stay out of the way, but I was also going to stay as close to Bella as I could get. So without waiting for permission, I followed them back to the exam room and knowing that following them into the actually exam room would cross the line, I plopped myself down right outside the room, hoping to be able to get frequent updates. Emmett, who still seemed completely dazed, followed me back and, taking my lead, sat down next to me.

Emmett and I were just sitting there trying to get an idea of what was happing in Bella's room. He was being so quiet that at one point I'd almost forgotten he was sitting next to me, when I finally looked over and realized that he was crying. He wasn't bawling or anything, but silent tears were falling down his cheeks. I stared at him for a few seconds, shocked. I tried to think back to a time I'd ever seen Em cry, but I came up blank. I didn't really know how to handle this new development.

"Em?" I asked hesitantly.

"We failed her, Alice. No matter what happens today, no matter what the outcome, we're going to have to live with the fact that we failed Bella. He should never have gotten to her like this. It was our job to protect her from him and we just let him have her."

"Em, we couldn't have known. We thought the threat was gone after he was expelled. We figured he'd be sent away again and she'd be safe. How could we have anticipated this? This is on James, not us," I explained softly.

"We knew him. We knew how unstable he was, we should have anticipated something like this. We were the only ones who could have anticipated something like this from him, the only ones with all the facts on him. I knew after the fight that he was still a threat, but I wasn't on guard like I should have been."

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something I could say that would make him feel better, but I knew that at this point nothing I could say would make him let go of his guilt. I could only hope that Bella would survive this and explain that this wasn't a guilt he needed to carry around on his shoulders. I laid my head against his shoulders to let him know I was there for him, but went back to watching Bella's room.

I heard a squeak of shoes on the floor down the hallway and looked up to see Charlie heading towards us with a hagard look on his face. I jumped up, Emmett following when he realized what was going on. Charlie didn't bother stopping, he just pointed to Bella's room and asked us, "In here?" When we both nodded yes he disappeared into her room.

Only a minute or so passed before Edward came walking out of the room, looking half-crazed. "What's going on?" I asked.

"She has to have an MRI done to see what kind of shape her head is in. She's having a hard time staying conscious. That's the biggest concern right now, besides blood loss. Carlisle's pretty sure she has a couple of broken ribs, but won't know for sure until she gets x-rays done. Her neck looks pretty badly bruised, but she seems to be breathing on her own okay, which is a good sign. She's dehydrated, so they're pumping her with fluids. She'd definitely been stabbed and cut up, but Carlisle says James seems to have missed anything important when he stabbed her." Several times while he was running through the myriad list of injuries Bella had suffered his voice broke, and I knew he was only just keeping it together. I felt sure that if he wasn't worried that Bella would end up needing him, that he'd crumple at the realization of how much she'd been through.

"Is she...does Carlisle think she'll make it?" Emmett asked quietly.

Edward ran his hands through his hair and as he did so, I could see that they were shaking. "He says he thinks she will, but I can tell he's worried about her head. You can see that she's been hit pretty hard and I think he's worried that her brain is swelling or something. He's taking her up for her MRI as soon as he thinks she stable enough for it."

"Why are you out here?" I asked, wondering how Carlisle had gotten Edward to leave Bella.

"Charlie. I'd only been allowed to stay as long as I did if I promised to leave when Charlie showed up. Carlisle thinks he needs time to process Bella's injuries without me in the room. If he hadn't threatened to have me dragged out of there if I didn't promise I'd leave, I never would have left her." He sounded bitter when he spoke. I knew it should have been expected given the situation, but it was still odd to hear bitterness towards Carlisle coming from Edward, so out of character for him.

In the next second, the doors to Bella's room flew open and they wheeled Bella by us on a gurney. She had tubes attached to her every which way and between Carlisle, Charlie, and the nurses, I could barely catch a glimpse of her. Before I even had time to register what was going on, she was gone again. I guess Carlisle felt it was finally safe enough to move her.

I looked up at Edward, his face pale and stricken at the sight of her being wheeled away from him. He continued to stare after her long after her bed had disappeared from view. I turned to check on Emmett and realized he didn't look much better. I tried to come up with words of comfort for my brothers, but knew any words I said right now would just be full of empty promises. There was nothing I could say that would make this any better for any of us.

**Emmett**

She looked so small, laying there hooked up to all of those damn tubes. So small and lifeless. As scared as I was before, it was even worse now. No matter what Carlisle had said, I was worried for her life.

I wished that Rose would get there. I needed her here to wrap her arms around me and tell me everything was going to be all right, even if there was no way she could know whether that was true or not. It was one of the things I loved best about Rose though, and one of the most surprising things about her; she could wrap you up in her arms and give you a hug, and really make you believe that it all was going to be okay, whether she believed that to be true or not. Secretly, Rose is an optimist. She's so good at convincing you it would all be okay, because she has already convinced herself wholeheartedly that it would be.

I stared off down the hallway, towards the hospital entrance, willing the others to get here. I knew there was no way any of the three of us would be able to comfort ourselves or each other, we'd all seen how broken Bella looked after all, it was hard to stay positive after that. But the others - Esme, Rose, and Jasper - well none of them had gotten a look at Bella, I was hoping that meant they'd be more able to be optimistic right now than the three of use seemed able to be.

It almost seemed like I had willed it, because just a few seconds later the three of them turned the corner and were heading in our direction. I stood up and met Rose halfway, pulling her into a big hug before we'd even said so much as hi to each other. I needed the physical contact right now, before anything else.

I watched the others out of the corner of my eye. Jasper ran over and wrapped Alice up in a big hug, while Esme slowly approached Edward, hoping to offer some comfort, but he pulled away from her. I released Rose a little to watch Edward, worried about him.

Esme took another step towards him, saying his name as she did so. He pulled away again, and this time I could see how agitated he was. "Edward," Esme said, a plea in her voice.

"No. You don't get to comfort me! Not while she's in there fighting for her life. Not while I let this happen to her. God. I did this to her. I did this! James was the instrument, but I brought this on her," Edward almost yelled at her, pain lacing his every word.

Esme didn't flinch though, she just kept walking towards him very slowly. Finally, Edward was backed up against the wall and she was able to cautiously wrap her arms around him. He stood stock still for a few moments before he sagged in her arms, sobs violently wracking his frame.

I knew from the moment he found out Bella had gone missing, that he shut his emotions down for survival. He'd never make it through what he had to do if he let the pain take over, so he turned it off, along with everything else he'd been feeling. As his brother, it had been scary to witness, but I knew that there was nothing I could do about it until we had some word on Bella.

But now with her found and her life hanging in the balance, and Esme knowing exactly what he needed, he couldn't hold it all in anymore. He let the pain and misery and fear take over as Esme held him, waiting for the worst to pass.

We all watched helplessly in silence as Edward, who had always been so strong for the rest of us, finally let go and allowed himself to fall apart. Knowing there was nothing else I could do that could possibly relieve the pain he was going through right now, I let go of Rose and walked over and wrapped my arms around both him and Esme, engulfing them in a large hug. The others followed my lead, and we all sat there in one big large group hug right in the middle of the hospital hallway, holding my brother as he cried out his pain.

I don't know how long we sat there like that, for a while I think, before a commotion down the hall had us pulling away from each other, curious to see what was going on.

"Oh god," I said as I processed the scene. Three nurses where wheeling someone down the hall on a gurney, but that wasn't what disturbed me. Behind the nurses were four uniformed officers and in an instant I realized that it had to be James laying on that bed.

"Jasper," I called as I turned towards Edward, waiting for him to react. I didn't have to wait long, he was only a split second behind me in understanding what the police presence around that gurney meant.

His eyes widened and I managed to wrap my arms around his body just as he started to make a run down the hallway. He started violently struggling against me, trying to break free of my hold, shouting obscenities at me as he did so. If I didn't have my size on my side, I'd never have been able to hold him.

He finally kicked out at me and connected to my knee, causing me to loosen my hold just long enough for him to break out of it. Jasper was ready for it though, and managed to shove Edward into the wall and pin him there.

I came up to the two of them on the side, and when Jasper saw me there he shifted slightly to make room for me. The two of us each grabbed an arm and leaned into his body, effectively pinning him where he was.

There was nothing I wanted to do more than let go of Edward and help him tear James to pieces. The anger in me swelled up, yearning for a release at seeing James being wheeled towards us like that. But I knew Bella would never forgive me if I just let Edward have at James like that, and I knew I owed it to her to keep Edward out of jail. And I wasn't kidding myself, if I let Edward have at James like he wanted to, in jail he would be.

Alice stepped up in front of Edward, trying to get him to make eye contact with her, trying to get him to calm down. I knew that it was useless though, knew there'd be only one place Edward would be focusing right now, and it wasn't on Alice.

Feeling confident that Jasper and I had Edward firmly secured, I turned my head to watch as James passed us on the gurney. It looked like he too was unconscious, and considering how quickly they managed to find him, that didn't surprise me.

He looked pale and barely alive, and his head looked in worse shape than Bella's had. A nurse had a mask over his mouth and was pumping air into it, making me think he was having trouble breathing. He didn't look like he'd been through as much as she had, but it looked like she'd put up a good fight against him.

My pride for her swelled at the site of him, lying there unconscious. I knew the only reason she was here with us now was because she was just stubborn enough to never give up. When faced with a man determined to kill her, attacking her with a knife, she'd buckled down and fought back and actually managed to escape his clutches. What could be more impressive than that?

Watching as they wheeled James out of sight, I wondered if he'd make it through this. His fate never crossed my mind until this point, having been too worried about Bella to waste time on him. But thinking about it now, I had to admit I hoped he wouldn't make it through this. I briefly wondered if that made me a bad person, before deciding I didn't care. He had taken one of my best friends and tried to kill her. I hoped he met the same fate he tried to force upon her. I could only hope that Karma would catch up with him here in this hospital.

When I finally felt Edward go slack under us, his resistance melting away with the disappearance of James, I let go of him and stepped back, Jasper following. We didn't go far though, not trusting that Edward wouldn't try to take off down the hall to track James down.

"Why'd you do it? Why'd you stop me?" he asked with venom in his voice.

"You know we had to," Jasper answered. "As much as we all want to go after him, we can't do that. He's in police custody, from here it's out of our hands."

"He doesn't deserve their protection," he spit out.

"No, he doesn't. But he has it, and so we had to stop you from doing something stupid," I answered.

"Paying him back for what he did to Bella wouldn't have been stupid, it would have been right. She deserves vengeance."

"She deserves to have you by her side when she wakes up," Rose stepped in with. "If you attacked him like you wanted to, they would have had to arrest you. Would you want her to wake up and find you gone? How do you think she'd handle that after everything she's been through?"

He just stared at her, and I knew he didn't have a retort that could rationalize away what she was saying. He finally ran his hands through his hair again, something that was becoming a nervous habit for him, and turned away from us all.

He knew that we were right, but he hated that we were right. I couldn't blame him, I hated that we were right, too. I was in agreement with him that Bella deserved her vengeance, but I knew Rose's words were right, and more than vengeance she deserved to wake up surrounded by her friends.

After that, it was a lot of waiting. I don't know how long we sat there, waiting for word on Bella's status, but it felt like hours. I could feel my stomach rumbling but ignored it, unwilling to go off in hunt of food until we had a status update.

I paced up and down the hallway, cursing the hospital and their monotone color scheme, offering me no distractions from my thoughts. We were all on edge, even Esme, with no way of finding relief. Just as I was sure I was going to lose my mind, Carlisle came walking towards us.

"How is she?" Esme was the first to ask as we all gathered around him.

"She's okay. She's going to make it through just fine," he answered with a smile on his face.

We all reacted differently to the his words. I think I might have actually let out a little whoop of delight. Jasper and Alice hugged each other while Edward dropped down to his knees on the floor, too overcome with emotions to even stand up. I grabbed Rose's hand and gave it a big squeeze before picking her up into a great big bear hug. In each and every one of us, I knew that the relief was overwhelming.

When we calmed down enough for him to continue, he finished giving us the rundown. "Her head scan came back clear and she seems to have escaped any internal injuries. She has two broken ribs and she needed a lot of blood and fluids, she'll be banged up and bruised for a while, but all of that will heal. She got really lucky. She's been moved to a room on the third floor, and she'll have to stay here for observation for a few days, but as long as she doesn't develop any infections, she'll be free to go home after that. She's been in and out of consciousness, and has been asking for you guys. Charlie's up there with her now and says you guys are free to come up."

"What room number?" Edward asked.

"318," Carlisle answered, and before any of us could react, Edward took off at a run down the hall.

Before I followed Edward, as much as I wanted to go running off after him, there was something I needed to ask Carlisle. "Has anyone told Charlie that they found James? That he's here in the hospital?"

"Yes, one of his men came up and updated him. We haven't heard anything yet on James' status, his doctors are still working on him, but I'll let you guys know when I hear something. He's being officially charged with kidnapping, assault, and attempted murder though, from what I've heard."

I nodded my head, showing that I understood, before heading off with the others to go find Bella. I knew our saga wasn't over yet, that we'd still have to wait to find out James' fate, but I didn't care right then. All I cared about in that moment was that Bella was going to be okay, and that they had the man responsible for hurting him in custody. I'd worry about everything else after I assured myself with my own eyes that the girl who had become a little sister to me was really okay.

**A/N:**

_So what did you think? Drop me a line to let me know your thoughts. I know, it wasn't quite as epic as the last few chapters have been, and I know you're dying to get into Edward's head, but it wasn't time yet. Soon, I promise. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but don't be surprised if it takes me a few days. These chapters are hard for me to write and sometimes I find I need to take a little break from them. But I will do my best to get the next one up quickly._

_Meanwhile, I have an announcement. After going back and forth, and back and forth again, on the issue, I've decided not to do a sequel to this. As much as I love the characters in this story and their relationships to each other, I need to move onto something else for a while. Plus, the sequel would have been very dark, and I just don't think I'm ready to take that on right now. That doesn't mean I'm ruling it out forever, just that I have no plans to work on it in the near future._

_Which leads me to my other announcement. I've started on my next project and have the first chapter posted already. The story is called My Own Worst Enemy, and it's a lot different than anything I've attempted so far. I'm really looking forward to working on it, and it's been a lot of fun writing so far. I'll have the next chapter for that posted within a day or two. My hopes is to have a few chapters up before this story has finished...though I don't plan on letting it slow down the last three chapters from this. I wrote the last chapter in between working on this one, when I needed breaks. So, if you feel up to it, go check the first chapter out. At this point, any reviews on it would be appreciated as I want to know what kind of reception it will get. Thanks, guys!_

_As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing! Hope to see you soon._

_~TCG (a.k.a. the jerk. lol! I don't know whether it was intended to or not, but that review had me cracking up...thanks for the laugh! :o)_


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N:**

_Two left. :o)_

_Originally, this wasn't going to be an Edward chapter at all. Edward has the next chapter and I had planned to not write his POV until that chapter, but finally realized that we needed to hear from him. There was a reason I wanted to wait till the end, but it's so subtle I'm not sure anyone would even get it. So, Edward and Bella split this chapter, with Edward's part being smaller, just so we get a quick glimpse into his head. Hope you like it. _

_As always, thanks for reading and thanks to those who take the time to review! :o)_

**Edward**

_She was going to be okay. She'd made it through. Thank God, she was going to _live. It was like a constant, frantic chant going through my head as I tore through the hospital, all the way up to her room, not bothering to even wait for the elevator. I couldn't believe it yet, not until I saw it with my own eyes.

When I found her room, I paused at the door, giving myself a moment to take in what I was seeing. Bella was in her bed, still unconscious, surrounded by wires and machines. She was pale as a ghost, her skin looking almost transparent. She looked like she'd been through hell and back again.

Her shoulder was bandaged up from where she'd been stabbed. She also had bandages around the places he'd sliced her. Her throat was already turning purple, her face was bruised and swollen. She looked so broken, it tore at my heart seeing her that way.

Walking in the room, I gently picked up her hand, holding it as I lowered my head to the bed and gave in to the flood of emotions that were overwhelming me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I faced the fear and guilt that I had been fighting, and was still fighting. I acknowledged the weight of the sadness I'd been carrying, fearing that I'd never see her again. It had manifested in a physical pain, one I'd been dealing with since we first realized she was missing.

She was banged up, but she was alive. Considering everything that had happened, considering the possible outcomes, I knew I should be feeling joy right now. To a certain extent I was, but mostly I felt guilt and anger. Anger at James.

Seeing what he'd done to her, I only wished I'd had the chance to get at James in the hallway downstairs. I cursed Emmett for restraining me, knowing my inability to pay James back for what he'd done to Bella would be another guilt I'd have to live with for the rest of my life.

Wiping my face and sitting up again, I finally noticed that Charlie was sitting across from me, holding her other hand and apparently watching me all of this time. I cleared my throat before awkwardly greeting him, saying, "Chief Swan. Sorry sir, didn't see you sitting there."

He looked at me appraisingly, and it occurred to me that he was probably only just realizing that his daughter and I were more than just friends. Great, of all the ways I could imagine Charlie Swan finding out that I was going out with Bella, watching while I cried by the bed of his just returned kidnapped and beaten daughter wasn't my ideal method.

I guess he decided to skip over the whole crying thing and all that could mean, for which I was thankful for, because instead he said, "Edward. I hear I owe you my thanks for finding her."

I shook my head, saying, "No, mainly that was Alice, with Carlisle and Emmett's help. I was pretty useless through the whole thing."

Being reminded of how unhelpful I had been after she went missing brought shame to me, not to mention more guilt. If the others had given up the way I had, she probably wouldn't have made it out of those woods alive. I could have cost her her life.

I never would have survived if she had died out there. I'd have stuck around long enough to track down and kill James, but that would have been it. As much as I loved my family and wouldn't have wanted to hurt them like that, I think there are just some things you don't recover from. Bella's death would have definitely been one of those things. She was my heart and soul, without her, my life was nothing.

Charlie and I had lapsed into silence, neither of us really able to carry on a conversation yet. It didn't last long, though, before my family arrived to fill the silence for us.

Everyone piled into the room, quietly whispering hello to Charlie as they did. Everyone moved in around Bella, which I knew would have made her uncomfortable if she'd been awake, but I thought she'd forgive us all for, given the circumstances.

Emmett and Alice had already seen Bella, but this was Jasper, Rose, and Esme's first time coming face to face with everything she'd gone through. Jasper took it all in silently, processing her bruising and bandages with a solemn face. Rose looked shocked, her coloring almost as pale as Bella's. I had assumed that Alice would have warned Jasper about Bella's state when she called him, and assumed Jasper would have warn Rose, but I guess the reality was worse than she imagined. Esme looked stricken, and I could see the tears in her eyes. She went right over and gave Charlie a big hug, which he surprisingly returned.

"How's she doing?" Esme asked Charlie, her voice full of obvious concern.

"All things considered, she's doing okay. She's been in and out of consciousness, mostly asking for you guys, but it looks like she might be out for a while this time. They have her on a lot of pain meds. All things considered, though, it could have been a lot worse. It would have been a lot worse, if it hadn't been for you all. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you all for bringing her back to me."

"There's nothing to thank us for, Charlie. We all love Bella very, very much, we were just doing our part to help her get back home," she said.

Charlie ran his hands across his face and I could see that his hand was shaking. He'd been in motion for so long, trying to organize the search party to find her, that I think he'd only just sat still long enough to really process everything.

"None the less," he said, "I appreciate it, and I know she will when she wakes up again."

"Has she said anything yet about what happened?" Alice asked.

"She confirmed that it was James who had her. It sounds like he snuck up behind her and hit her over the head with something when she was walking up to the house, knocking her out. When she next woke up again, she was in the cave. That's as much as I've gotten out of her so far, though."

"Actually," he continued, "I need to go down and see what's going on with James. I need to talk to the arresting officers and see if his doctors have said anything about his prognosis, but I didn't want to leave her here alone. Would you guys be willing to sit with her until I get back, just in case she wakes up again?"

We happily agreed, and with a last concerned look for his only daughter, Charlie headed off in search of her kidnapper. I didn't envy him his job today, knowing he'd have to act the role of Chief of Police when everything in him was probably calling for him to act the avenging father. I knew though that if anyone would be able to walk the line, it would be Chief Swan.

Alice walked around and took Charlie's vacated spot, softly grabbing Bella's other hand as she did. I saw the sadness in her eyes as she looked down at Bella laying there in the hospital bed, and knew that I wasn't the only one who would live with regrets over this.

"Oh, Bells," she whispered softly and she lightly brushed the hair out of Bella's face. "I'm so sorry we weren't there for you." I knew that more than one of us in that room were echoing that exact sentiment.

We sat there silently for a long while, just waiting. Slowly, the others staked out different areas in the room, preparing to wait it out for the long haul. I doubted any of us would leave before she woke again. I knew that there was nothing anyone could do to get me to leave that room before she'd regained consciousness again.

**Bella**

I could hear quiet voices around me, which almost sent me into a panic, thinking that meant James had found me again. But then I started recognizing those voices and knew that I was safe. Slowly, I opened my eyes, reminding myself that I was okay, that I was surrounded by people I loved.

I was expecting pain, but guessed the pain meds were doing their job because all I really felt was blurry numbness. Right away I noticed that someone was holding each of my hands. I looked over to see Alice holding my right hand in both of hers, her head bowed, making her look very forlorn. I wondered briefly what could have her looking so sad, before it finally hit me that I was probably the cause.

Turning, I saw that Edward had my other hand, and he was watching me carefully, though allowing me to process my surroundings at my own pace. I made eye contact with him and for a few seconds, we just stared at each other.

I'd thought I was never going to see him again. I had been convinced that I was going to die out there, either alone in the woods or by James' hands, never getting to say goodbye to him. To be back here with him again, that was just some kind of miracle to me.

I squeezed his hand tightly as a silent tear fell down my cheek, grateful that I had this chance with him again. In a voice barely recognizable, I whispered his name. In return, he smiled at me and squeezed my hand, saying, "I'm here, baby."

"I didn't think I was ever going to see you again," I said as more tears came. For the first time since James had grabbed me I just let it all go.

I had almost died. Jacob had done his very best to kill me, and he'd come so close to succeeding. If it wasn't for some luck and a lot of determination, I'd probably be a dead woman right now. I'd never would have seen my family and friends again, and they'd probably always be left wondering what had happened to me.

I knew it would most likely be a long while before I really felt safe again. There'd only been about fifty feet between where my truck was parked at the curb in front of my house and my front door, and yet in that amount of space James had managed to disable me and carry me away. It was a scary thought. If I was that vulnerable there, would I ever really be safe?

I noticed the others had gathered around me – Esme, Rose, Jasper, Emmett, and even Carlisle was there. I tried to wipe the tears off my face in an attempt to compose myself, but Alice and Edward each still had a hand. Alice felt my little tug and released my hand, but Edward held on.

"I'm sorry, guys," I said, my voice coming out a hoarse whisper.

"Bells, please don't apologize to us for crying. You went through hell today, I'm pretty sure you've earned the right to cry a little. Anyway, we're the ones who should be apologizing to you," Emmett said.

"What for?" I asked, confused.

"For not anticipating James' attack. For not getting to you sooner. For not protecting you. For any number of things, really. We should have been there for you and we weren't. We dropped the ball. Nothing any of us could say would be able to make up for that, but we're all just very sorry," he answered.

"This wasn't your fault. There's no way you could have known this would have happened, no way any of us could have. Please,"I said, looking around at each of them, "don't blame yourselves for this. I don't blame any of us, I know who was responsible for what happened and it wasn't anyone in this room."

"We should have known though. Considering everything that had happened, we should have known what he was capable of and been on alert for something like this," Alice said. Looking around at each of their faces, I could see that they'd each assigned themselves blame in this, which I neither expected or wanted.

"You couldn't have known, actually, because you had no idea what we were really dealing with," I explained.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

"James...he's not just James, he's Jacob, too. He has two very distinct personalities. This," I said, pointing to face and body with my free hand, "was almost entirely at the hands of Jacob, not James. You couldn't have known what he was capable of, because there were two of him sharing a body. I think it's been like that for a while. I think the things you thought were James, the dog, crashing Edward's car, those were actually done by Jacob. I kind of think James was doing his best to fit in and act normal, but Jacob was always there in the back of his mind, pushing to get out."

I ended on a cough, exhausted from the effort of trying to talk. It was important that they knew, though, important that they not blame themselves.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked. I could hear the doubt in his voice and completely understood it. It was still hard for me to grasp, and I had seen the change take place. I'd seen the very distinct differences between Jacob and James.

"I have no doubt. If the police manage to catch him, they can probably see the switch happen if they make him angry enough. Jacob seems to take over when James can't handle a situation."

"Bella, hun," Esme spoke up from her spot to the right of me. "They already did catch James. He's being treated for his injuries. Carlisle just found out that he's going to make it through, as well. He's under arrest for what he did to you. Your dad is down there with him now, talking to his doctors about when he can be taken into custody."

"He's somewhere in this hospital?" I asked, as panic set in. I knew he'd most likely survive. He'd been knocked out, but I didn't think he'd been hit hard enough for it to pose a real danger to him. But knowing that he was in the same hospital as me was more than I could handle. I started trying to pull at the wires attached to me, in an effort to get loose so that I could leave the hospital. "I can't be here then. I need to get out of here."

"Shhh," Edward soothed as he tried to keep my hands from tearing out the wires and tubes attached to me. "Bella, he's in no condition to try to track you down and, even if he was, he's under a twenty-four hour police guard. Not to mention, we'd never let him get to you again."

"Also," Carlisle jumped in, "your dad said something about posting a guard at your door, when I saw him downstairs. I'm sure it's not needed, but I think he wants to know that you're safe."

I took a deep breath, in an effort to calm down. I knew they were all right, but hearing he was in the same hospital as me brought me back to the cave again for a moment, with all the fear and anger I felt there. But they were right, there was no way he'd be able to get to me from here, I knew Charlie would make sure of it.

"Okay. You're right, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out."

"Bella, stop apologizing. You've only just been through a traumatizing event that you barely survived, I think you're allowed to freak out. Any of us would be," Rose said.

I closed my eyes, so happy to have all of my friends around me, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. For a long while, I didn't believe that this would ever be possible again. Despite everything that had happened, I felt so lucky in that moment.

"How long was I missing for?" I asked, unsure about what day it was.

"You went missing last night around eleven, we think, and we found you this morning right around six," Alice explained.

I couldn't believe I'd only been gone a total of seven hours. It had felt like much, much longer than that. It had felt like a lifetime.

"How did you guys find me?" I asked, curious about this. I'd been wondering how they managed to track me down ever since I realized I hadn't been hallucinating them, but had been too out of it to ask.

"Alice had a premonition," Rose said. "She woke up screaming, waking the whole house up, and then just started screaming for Edward."

"I saw James strangling you, only I was you in the premonition. It was as real as if it had been me, and in it I knew that I was dying. Then I took my last breath and that was it. When I woke up, I was sure that he had killed you," Alice explained.

"All of that happened, only I obviously didn't die, but I did pass out. I was sure I was about to die, and when I fainted I thought that was the end, so I'm not surprised you would have come to that conclusion. I'm sorry you felt it like that, though. But how did that help you find me? Even I didn't know where I was."

"Well, I could tell that you were in a cave of some sort, and that you were being held by James, but that's really all I got out of it. Charlie called after that, asking if you were at our house, and we told him we thought James might've had you. We decided that some of us would go out looking for you and some of us would go to the station to help him organize a search party. Emmett was the one who guessed where the caves were that he would have taken you to, and from there it was pretty much luck," she finished.

I turned to Emmett, knowing his guess had saved my life, and said, "Thank you, Em." He smiled at me, but shrugged a little uncomfortably.

Remembering how they found me I suddenly asked, "Where's Wilson?"

"Who's Wilson?" Rose asked, sounding confused.

"It's a stick. We found her with it up in the woods. She wouldn't let us leave without it," Emmett explained.

"I know it sounds crazy," I explained, "but that damn stick saved my life. I was so tired after I got away from Jacob that I could barely walk. I knew I had to get as far away from the cave as I could, but I could barely walk. Eventually, I just crashed to the ground and never would've gotten back up again if it wasn't for that stick. I managed to find it laying near me and used it to help push myself back off the ground, and it helped to keep moving forward. I never would've been where I was when you guys found me if it wasn't for the stick. At one point I was kind of delusional and was feeling scared and alone so I named it Wilson, to try to cheer me up."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that Wilson is still with us. The stick is in the car. One of us will go down and bring him up to you in a little bit," Em said.

"Thanks, and thanks for going back for it. I made a promise that if I made it out of there alive, I'd hang it up in a place on honor," I said with a little laugh, the first one since I'd gotten back. They all smiled at hearing me laugh, and I could imagine how worried about me they all still were.

Just then, Charlie came into the room. I'd seen him since being brought into the hospital but this was the longest I'd been conscious since my arrival. We told each other how happy we were to see each other and I walked him through everything that had happened, including James' split personalities. I told him about it being Jacob who had done most of the damage to me. I had to walk him through how I managed to escape, finally slamming Jacob's head into the wall. When I got through it all, he told me that eventually I'd have to go through it again with an officer, and that they'd record my story to use against James in court.

After that, I was so tired that I fell back asleep again, barely able to stay awake long enough to say thank you again to everyone.

The next week or so was all about my recovery. I had a bad concussion, so they wanted to keep me in the hospital to monitor me for a little while, and to make sure I didn't come down with an infection from all of my open wounds. I was in a lot of pain still, but they kept me on meds to keep it under control.

Charlie and the Cullens where never very far from my side. Even at night, Charlie got special permission for one of them to always be with me. They rotated nights, and Charlie didn't even seem to mind when the guys pulled a night. I think he just wanted to know that someone was with me in case I needed them.

I felt bad that they were giving up so much of their time to be with me, but was glad about it at the same time. Especially at night.

I woke up throughout the night, screaming from my nightmares. I'd dream that I was back in the cave again and that Jacob was about to kill me. I'd dream that he was stabbing me, and wake up from the pain in my shoulder. I even dreamed that he had Edward once, and that he made me watch as he killed him. I thought it would be a while before I made it through the night without nightmares.

Three days after I was brought it, I found out that James had been well enough to be transferred to the jail. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad he was finally someplace that he wouldn't be able to get to me. I knew on a certain level that I was safe while he was in the hospital, with all of Charlie's precautions, but I just had a hard time relaxing when he was so close to me.

I think everyone was relieved that he was locked up, because the mood seemed to become a little lighter after he'd been taken away. There were more smiles, I think from all of us, and we were able to joke around a little. I was also starting to walk around a little, which helped, though I was still very weak and very sore.

And through it all, Edward was at my side. He hardly ever went home, only going to shower and change once in a while. He spent nights in my room, and I think Charlie let him because he saw how worried he was about me, and because someone else always stayed here with us.

I started getting worried about him, though. He looked so haggard and worn down, I worried what it was costing him to spend so much time here with me. I almost hoped that Esme or Carlisle would make him go home for a night to catch up on some sleep, but something Alice said made me think they had broached the subject with him but dropped it at how upset he'd gotten.

Finally, one day when we were alone for a while, I decided to try myself to get him to spend the night at home. I wondered if he thought I expected him to stay with me, and wanted him to know that wasn't the case.

"Edward, I think you should go home tonight," I said.

"Why? Am I bothering you?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"No, but I think you being here so much is getting to you. You look worn out and you seem so unhappy lately. I'm fine now. James is gone and I'm starting to feel better, Carlisle even says that I'll probably be discharged in a day or two. I'll be fine if you sleep at home for a night, and I think you need to."

"No," he said, his voice firm.

"Why?" I asked, confused by his absolute refusal.

"I need to be here, and I don't deserve your concern."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't you deserve my concern? You're my boyfriend, of course I'd be concerned about you," I said.

"I failed you. You needed me and I let you down. Then, the one thing I could do for you, I even failed at that."

"What one thing?" I had no idea what he was talking about and started worrying that he was even more worn down then I had thought.

"I had the chance to get at James when he was brought into the hospital. I should have taken care of him for you, so that you'd never have to worry about him again. I failed you in so many ways, I don't deserve you, but I can't bring myself to stay away from you. I know it's selfish of me, but I can't stand being away from you, so even that I've failed at."

"Wait, what would you have done to James?" I asked, deciding to start with the most pressing concern first. "Would you have killed him?"

"If Emmett hadn't held me back I could have," he answered sullenly, and I knew this was why he'd been short with Emmett the past few days.

"Edward, look at me." I waited for him to do so before continuing. "I would never want you to kill James, not unless it was a life or death situation. I would never want you to take something like that into your own hands, and I wouldn't want you to have to pay the penalty for something like that. Do you think I'd be happy about you being locked up?"

"He wouldn't have been able to get at you if I did. And, you wouldn't have to worry about facing him again in court. Have you thought of that? Of what that will do to you?" he asked, defensively.

It was actually something I'd been thinking about a lot. I knew he'd be prosecuted, which meant that I'd have to face him again on the witness stand. "Yes, I have, but I'm not worried about it. I've been thinking about it and you know what? I survived the best he could throw at me. He had all of the advantages up there in that cave and yet, I was the one who walked out of there that day. I still have nightmares and I'm very glad he's locked up behind bars, but facing him in a court of law isn't going to break me. If I made it through everything I'd gone through, what's facing him in court really going to do to me?"

And it was true. I knew I'd probably be freaked out going in, but I had confidence that I'd be able to face him again. The further away I got from it all, the stronger I felt for having survived it. He might have taken some of my sense of security away from me, and he might have beaten me and almost killed me, but James wasn't taking anything else away from me, not without a fight. So going in and sitting up on the stand, telling my story while he watched, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting fear of that take over my life.

"Edward," I went on, "I refuse to let this change anything for us. You have no right to hold this kind of guilt over yourself. Only I have the right to assign guilt and I don't think anyone but James deserves it. Emmett was right to stop you from attacking James. It's not your place to serve justice to him, and it wouldn't have made me feel better, especially as it would have meant that you'd be the one sitting in jail locked up, not him. So you need to let this go. I had no idea you were taking so much upon yourself. You have to let it go, or it will take over your life."

I tried to be firm but caring. I knew that if he didn't find a way to forgive himself, this would eat him up. I only hoped that my words had reached him because, in the end, he had to be the one to forgive himself. I could try to get him to understand he'd done nothing wrong, but only he could let go of the guilt that had apparently been haunting him this whole time.

Finally, he laid his head down on my bed and let the tears come. I think at that point he'd just been ready to break. He'd been going too long on too little sleep, with too many emotions surging inside him. I ran my hand threw his hair, knowing that he needed this release. We sat like that for a while, until he finally fell asleep, exhausted from everything he'd been putting himself through.

Watching him sleep for a while, I knew I wasn't the only one who had an emotional recovery in front of them. I stared at his face, relaxed in sleep for the first time in days, and hoped that we'd be able to help each other climb our way out of the hell James had put us each in.

He sighed quietly in his sleep and whispered my name, bringing a smile to my face. We'd make it through this together, I'd make sure we did. Because I wasn't willing to spend my life afraid and miserable thanks to James, and I wasn't willing to lose the man I'd only just been returned to, the man who had somehow won my heart. We were tied to each other in a way that I knew didn't happen very often, and that was worth fighting for.

James had put me through hell and back, but he hadn't won. I was alive. I'd made my way back to those I loved and now, together, we'd help each other put this whole thing behind us, while James paid for what he'd done for the rest of his life. That would be my justice, having James locked up where he couldn't hurt anyone else, while the rest of us were free, living and loving.

I wrapped my hand around Edward's hand, stroking his skin with my thumb as I did. We'd almost lost each other, it had been such a close thing. It had to mean something, that we'd been returned to each other. I could only think that it meant we were destined for each other. I took strength from the thought that with him by my side I could take on the world if I had to.

Looking at this man I loved so much, who had been brought so low by the thought of losing me, my heart swelled. This is what I'd made it back for, this man and his love. With that last thought, I closed my eyes and slept a dreamless sleep.

**A/N:**

_I can't begin to tell you how much I hated writing this chapter for some reason, which is why it took as long as it did. It was crazy actually. I have to thank my friend AmandaCullen84 for being there to listen to my bitching about how much I hated this chapter, and for helping to keep me motivated and on track. Without her, you probably would have gotten a chapter that said, "Bella recovered and James lived. Let's move on, shall we?" It was really close to happening that way lol. So go to my favorite author list, look her up and read one of her stories as a way to say thanks! Anyway, last two chapters won't be so bad because I'm excited about writing them. _

_As usual, reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside, so drop me a line or two to feed my happy feeling addiction. :o) Hope you liked it and see you soon!_

_~TCG_


	49. The

**A/N:**

_Long break, I know...personal stuff going on._

_Okay, I can now promise that there will be no delays between this and the last chapter, because I waited until they were both finished before posting this. So I'm posting this now and then tomorrow night I'll finish my edit of my last chapter, and then post it sometime on Saturday. Okay? Okay._

_I've already mentioned, and it comes up a lot in this chapter, that James has Multiple Personality Disorder. I just wanted to explain that it's actually known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, but for the same of familiarity I went with the more common Multiple Personality Disorder. _

_As always, thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this thing. I know that it's often been a long, frustrating wait, so the fact that some of you has stuck by me through it puts a smile on my face. :o)_

_And now on to the fun stuff..._

**Edward**

For the next couple of weeks we all hovered protectively around Bella. Whenever Charlie was at work, she was either at our house or we were at hers, as Charlie didn't like the idea of her home alone yet. She was up moving around again after she got home from the hospital, but her arm was in a sling for a while as it recovered from James' stabbing.

The first couple days back at school were rough for her. Everyone had heard about what happened so she was the focus of everyone's attention again. Her bruises were still evident, though the swelling in her face had gone down; so even those with the best intentions had trouble not staring at her that first day back. She got through it though, without so much as faltering.

I'd been worried that everything she'd gone through would've left her afraid of the world, but she came out of the whole ordeal with a confidence that took my breath away. She was amazing. I couldn't believe she went through everything she did and yet somehow came out a stronger, more confident person. It made me love her all the more.

Each of us had a different burden to bear after her kidnapping, and it was Bella who helped us each let those burdens go. She helped us work through the guilt we all felt afterward. I still felt horrible when I thought about what happened, and sometimes from the way I caught him looking at her with a sad expression on his face I thought Emmett did, too. I don't think either of us felt that overwhelming guilt like when she'd first been rescued, but it was always there, this constant guilt. It was a slow process of forgiveness, but I was slowly getting there.

James was locked up in jail, for the moment. We'd been warned by the prosecutor's office that he was likely going to plead guilty and make a deal to spend his sentence in a mental health facility. Charlie told us that a plea bargain could mean a shorter sentence but would eliminate the chance of him being found not guilty and also save Bella from having to testify.

Amazingly, Bella seemed to be okay with this. She thought that James really did need the help that a mental health facility would give him. She believed he was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder and that was what had caused him to go after her.

I, on the other hand, just wanted him rotting behind bars, safely locked away from ever getting to Bella, or anyone else, again. I doubted he truly had Multiple Personality Disorder, which was very, very rare. I thought it was more likely that he'd been faking it all to excuse his actions, maybe even with himself. He was very smart and very tricky; I knew he'd be able to pull it off if he wanted to, if he thought it would benefit him.

At any rate, I didn't think he deserved mercy. He had planned to kill her, had, in fact, come really close to doing so. I wanted to see him do hard time, and a lot of it. I didn't like the idea of him spending his time in a hospital rather than in a jail. I didn't feel this was a strong enough punishment, nor a safe enough method of keeping him locked away from the world. If he ended up in a hospital I knew he'd spend all of his time plotting a way out, and if that ever happened I feared Bella would be his first target.

So I wanted him locked in a maximum security prison, where I truly thought he deserved to be, and I wasn't the only one. Charlie wasn't happy about the possible deal either. He didn't say anything about it, but I could read it on his face and in his mind whenever the topic came up. He didn't want to have to see Bella go through the stress of testifying, but he wanted to see James get out of jail time even less. It was a constant struggle we both faced.

The rest of us were divided. Rose wanted to see him in jail as much as I did. She, too, had trouble believing that he really had Multiple Personality Disorder. Jasper was keeping his opinion firmly to himself, though I could see in his mind that he was torn on the issue.

Emmett was divided. He felt that James probably did have Multiple Personality Disorder and that at one point possibly even genuinely cared for Bella, but he found his actions unforgivable. He also still saw him as a potential threat to Bella, and that more than anything else made him lean towards wanting to see James locked up in prison.

Alice believed that James really was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, and thought he needed to be in a mental health facility where he could get treatment for his disorder.

Ever since Bella had gotten out of the hospital, Alice had been acting off somehow. I couldn't put my finger on it really, but I knew she was keeping something from us. Jasper could sense it too, and I knew it had him worried.

She seemed darker, like she was struggling with inner demons, though I couldn't figure out why or over what. I tried reading her thoughts several times, but she was getting good at blocking me out. That, too, had me worried. Alice was usually an open book for me. People often underestimated her, but I knew that she was someone with many layers. Normally, though, I could access all of those layers. She kept almost nothing back from Jasper or me, and yet suddenly we found ourselves facing a brick wall.

I asked Bella once if she'd noticed how closed off Alice had become. When she said she had, I asked her if she was worried about it. "No," she'd said, "she's working through some stuff right now, but she'll come out the other end okay. We just need to give her some time and some space." I'd asked her if Alice had talked about it with her, she told me she hadn't, that she just had a feeling.

It was an odd side effect of her kidnapping, Bella seemed to be able to just read people, sometimes more so than even I could with my little extra ability. Carlisle had a theory about it. He thought that when she was stuck up in the cave with James, she'd survived by reading his body language, his moods. She had to quickly anticipate and out-maneuver him. Probably without even realizing it, she learned how to tap into her instincts in a that way most of us just didn't have a need to.

In the weeks since her kidnapping, she seemed to be fine-tuning this little skill almost unconsciously. I was sure that this was a sign that she wasn't as over the whole thing as she pretended to be. She'd worked through the fear, she was stronger now than ever, but a part of her was also a lot more cautious than she'd ever been. She walked lighter now, almost developing a cat-like ability to sneak up on people. Her movements seemed to be very purposeful. She didn't twitch or move restlessly around; her body was still until it had a reason to move. She seemed to unknowingly be trying to fade into the background as much as possible

Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect. It added a gracefulness to her movements that she'd never had before, making her even more attractive and more noticed than ever before. She'd always had a sexiness about her, even if she hadn't been aware of it, but now the gracefulness of her movements added a sultriness that was almost irresistible. She was constantly being hit on at school, and while I wasn't really over the moon about this, I knew I had her heart, so it didn't really make me feel jealous either. It bothered her, though, which bothered me.

A lot had changed, and yet nothing had changed. We were still as close as ever as a group, still focused on each other. Bella became even more firmly embedded into our group, and even Charlie seemed more a member of the family now than just a friend. With Bella spending so much time at our house, and with everything we'd all been through, Charlie ended up spending quite a bit of time at our house as well. I think he was trying to make things as comfortable for Bella as he could, but also, I think we had helped out with Bella so much during the kidnapping and then all through her hospital stay that he just sort of saw us as extended family now.

That's not to say he didn't have some qualms about Bella spending so much time around me, her boyfriend, and particularly with her spending nights at our house. I think Esme helped smooth things over, and I think it helped that Bella and I weren't pushing the physical part of our relationship right now.

We'd started out hot and heavy, but after her kidnapping I wanted to make sure she was comfortable before going any further than kissing. My big worry was that I'd inadvertently do something that would remind her of being attacked, and bring fear to her. I didn't want her to associate anything we did together with the pain and fear from that day, so I was taking it slow, giving both her body and mind time to heal.

So Charlie didn't say anything about how much time Bella and I were spending together these days. He even let her spend nights at our house, with her promise that she'd stay in Alice's room through the night and never try to meet up with me without being supervised, which she'd agreed to. It was a promise we both took very seriously.

All in all, though, life went on. We were more thankful for everything we had, I think, and more protective over Bella and even each other than we ever were, but we tried to fall back into comfortable patterns again. I think this helped us to move forward, to move on.

One day, about two months after the kidnapping, I had to run over to the hospital after school, to talk to Carlisle and fill out some forms. I was applying to work as a volunteer there for the summer, to see if I had an interest in pursuing a medical career. I knew I would be there for a while and knew it would be boring, so I told Bella to head on back to the house with the others. About an hour later, I hopped into my car and headed to the house.

As soon as I entered the house I could hear that the others were in the game room, so I went back to find them. Rose and Emmett were playing Fooseball, while Jasper watched. Alice and Bella were nowhere to be seen. Jasper, apparently noticing me looking around for Bella, said, "She's out back with Alice. They went out to the rock to talk."

"How long've they been out there?" I asked.

"Half an hour or so."

"Everything okay?" I asked, seeing that something seemed to be bothering Jasper. He looked worried, which was unlike him.

"I don't know. Something's been going on with Alice and she won't talk to me about it. Today she seemed more moodier than normal and then she just took off out back with Bella."

I debated whether I should go down and find them or not, finally deciding to head down and check up on things. If it looked like they were in the middle of something deep I'd come back up to the house without bothering them. I told Jasper what I planned, but he opted for staying up at the house, not wanting to intrude on Alice's privacy. I, at least, had the excuse of just coming home and wanting to find Bella to explain hunting them down.

When I approached the rock, I could see the two of them up there. They were facing away from me and although they were talking, it didn't appear to be intense. They both looked relaxed and comfortable, making me think it would be okay to approach them.

Walking quietly, I was still pretty far away when I noticed the exact second Bella sensed my presence. Her body went perfectly still and rigid, as if she sensed a threat. She whipped around to face me, and before she could mask the look in her eyes I saw fear and determination there. Just another reminder that she wasn't as over her kidnapping as she tried to convince everyone she was.

I held still, giving her a few seconds to process who she was seeing and that she was safe. When I saw her body relax and the fear leave her eyes I climbed up the rock to join them. Whatever they'd come out here to discuss, I could tell they'd worked it out because Alice seemed more relaxed than she'd been in weeks.

"Hey guys. So, what's up?" I asked, curious and hoping to finally get an answer as to what was bugging Alice lately. The two of them looked at each other and I saw Alice give the slightest nod of her head in what I was sure was her letting Bella know she wasn't ready to clue me in to whatever they'd been talking about.

"Just hanging out, talking about some things. What about you? How'd the hospital thing go?" Bella asked, in what was clearly an attempt to change the subject.

I sighed, frustrated that they weren't going to let me know what was going on with Alice but deciding not to push the subject yet. Whatever it was, it seemed that Alice only wanted Bella in on it. Allowing myself to be distracted, I told Bella about my trip to the hospital. We talked for a few minutes before Alice got up to go chase down Jasper.

"So, Minx," I said, once we were alone, "Are you going to tell me what's going on with Alice?"

"No. It's up to Alice to tell you, not me. What I will tell you, though, is that I think she'll be more like herself again, from now on. Or, at least, I hope so."

"She's okay?" I asked, wanting at least the answer to that.

"Yeah, she is. She's fine."

"And what about you?"

She smiled at me before answering. "I'm good. Happy now that you're here."

I sat back against the rock and pulled her towards me. She moved over, then laid her head in my lap, with her looking out over the water and me looking down at her. We sat quietly like that for a while, just relaxing against each other. Bella looked relaxed in a way she rarely did anymore, and I knew she trusted me to look out for her.

I stroked her hair, keeping it off her face as I did. I thought about how much we'd been through already, and how much Bella had been through because of me. I wondered if the guilt I felt whenever I thought of what she'd been through would ever go away. I wondered if she'd ever get over it completely, if she'd ever be able to move past the fear.

My thoughts were interrupted by Bella's voice. "The others are coming," she said.

Looking around for them, I saw that she was right. They were a ways away yet, making me wonder how she could have possibly registered their presence from so far away. I didn't want to make her feel self-conscious about it, so I let it go without asking.

We waited silently while Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper made their way towards us. They each climbed the rock we were lazing about on and took a seat. "What's up guys?" I asked, when they were finally all settled.

"Just thought we'd see what you two were up to," Em answered.

"Just enjoying the scenery," Bella answered, and I could tell without looking at her that she had a smile on her face.

"Good. We thought we'd enjoy it with you," Em immediately answered back.

I looked over at them suspiciously, wondering if they had some ulterior motive in coming out here, but watching them getting settled around us on the rock, it looked like they really did just want to relax out here with us.

"Charlie coming over for dinner tonight?" Rose asked Bella, breaking the quiet that had been growing between us all.

"I think so. He made a comment this morning about stopping over when he got done work. Does it bother you guys that he's here so much now?" Bella asked, as she raised herself up on her elbows so that she could look at the others.

"No. Charlie is family just as much as you are, Bells." Em answered. "Even Esme and Carlisle really like having him over."

"They don't have any real friends," Rose cut in. "They have co-workers and acquaintances, and in Esme's case, people she serves on the charity board with, but somehow not any real friends. I think having Charlie around made them realize how much they enjoy having a real friend they can just be themselves with. They seem happier now, with you guys both coming around."

"I know Charlie really likes it, too. I mean, he hasn't said anything about how he feels but I can tell he likes coming here. I think it helps him feel more connected to me in a lot of ways."

"Plus there's that whole 'glad to have as many people as possibly around his only daughter at all times so that she doesn't go off and get herself kidnapped again' thing going on," Emmett said, joking with her.

"Yeah, I guess there's that, too," Bella laughed in return, rolling her eyes at Em in mock exasperation.

"Quick! Someone get this girl some handcuffs, lock her to one of us so she doesn't get nabbed by anymore psycho stalkers."

"Shut up, Emmett!"

"Oh yeah, you're right, Bells. You and Edward probably have other plans for the handcuffs. That's okay, they can pull double duty."

At that, Bella sat up, reached over and smacked Emmett in the arm, hard, her laughter keeping things light.

My instincts wanted to tell Emmett to shut up and back off, but I could see that the joking was good for Bella. I think she was ready for everyone to stop tiptoeing around her about the kidnapping. She'd faced what she'd been through in so many different ways since it happened, I think she was ready to face her friends fear for her now.

I knew it would be a while before we could let that fear go, though. Even as he joked with her, I could see the fear and guilt that the humor was masking in Em's eyes. He might be ready to start joking with her about what happened, but I knew he wasn't ready to move past it yet.

I knew things had changed for him, when it came to Bella. He'd always seen her as a little sister in some ways, but I knew that had grown tenfold since the kidnapping. He seemed to be subconsciously keeping an eye on her at school, showing up whenever he thought something around her could become too much for her to handle. It was like he was almost psychically tuned into her. As close as he was to Alice and me, I knew Bella was the true sister of his heart. The miraculous part of that was, it didn't seem to bother Rose at all.

Had you asked me months ago how Rose would have handled Emmett focusing so much of his attention on another woman, I would have said that violence would ensue – very bloody violence. Somehow, though, she seemed to form a perfect protective team with Emmett, the two of them swooping in together without even communicating their intentions whenever it looked like Bella might need some backup. It was like a perfect protective pairing of brawn and bitchiness, scaring the crap out of anyone dumb enough to try to get close to Bella.

At first I think Bella was grateful for their constant presence, but I knew it was wearing thin. She'd been finding ways to keep out of their line of sight at school and even at the house. I knew it was getting to a point where she'd have to say something to them to get them to back off, but I think she felt bad about doing so. I'd already tried, but Emmett didn't seem to think I had any authority to call him off and Rose denied she'd been doing any kind of protective hovering in the first place, so this was going to have to be Bella's fight.

I stroked her hair as she laid back down in my lap, still joking and laughing with Emmett. Looking around at all of us relaxing outside together, I had to smile at the differences a few months made.

I'd come out to this rock before, many times, to try to deal with the loneliness that was eating me up before Bella had entered my life. I'd been so miserable and so alone. I had my family around me, but the love Emmett and Rose, and Alice and Jasper shared with each other just made me realize how much I was missing out on. I couldn't wait for the day when I could pack my bags and leave this place, getting far, far away from all the idiots I once counted as friends who abandoned me and my family the first chance they got.

I had wanted to go to New York City, or Boston, or if those places didn't prove far enough away, to Paris or London. I didn't care where I headed, as long as it was away. And hopefully in the getting there I'd find someone to keep me company, someone who I could love, someone I could build a life with.

Instead, that someone had found me, only it hadn't been in some far away place but here, in the one place I wanted to get away from. So I panicked and fought the attraction that seemed to be born between us the second we'd laid eyes on each other. I tried pushing her away from me, almost violently, in the hopes of holding onto everything I had decided I wanted for myself.

Luckily for me, I was a failure at purging Bella from my life, my heart, and my soul. She was as much a part of me as the air I breathed in, sustaining me and giving me life.

Looking down at her, I thanked whatever power it was that sent her careening into my life. Whatever you want to call it – fate, destiny, kismet – it knew better than I did what I needed. She was a paradox in a lot of ways, built of things that made her endearing and complicated, and often unpredictable. I loved her with all of my heart and soul, and was thankful for the peace she brought to my life.

I didn't know what our future held. We were still so very young that I knew it didn't make a lot of sense trying to plan our life together, but the truth was, if I closed my eyes I could see it all laid out right there in front of me, just waiting for us to grab hold of. I knew this was the person I wanted to be sitting next to when I was old and decrepit and facing the end of my life. I knew Bella's hand was the one meant to be locked in mine as we faced life's hardships and happiness's, and I could only hope she had the same confidence in our future together as I did.

I leaned down and gave her a kiss on her cheek, causing her to look up at me with that little smile she sometimes got that was both somehow completely innocent and yet sex-kittenish all at the same time. As it often did around her, my heart sped up as my body and mind reacted to that smile. Knowing that we were surrounded by my family, I was forced to do nothing but smile back at her in return. But I knew that our future held a thousand ways in which I would show her how much I loved it when she smiled like that, a thousand ways in which I would show her how much my body worshiped hers.

With a quiet groan of frustration, I dropped my head back on the rock behind me, knowing that thinking of such things would only lead to the further torturing of myself. Bella, seeing my discomfort, let out a quiet little giggle before winking at me, causing me to groan all the more.

Laughing at myself and Bella, I thought about our history together. I momentarily wished I could go back in time and tell myself how important, how absolutely vital to my life and happiness this girl would become, so that the past me wouldn't fight the attraction so much. I'd give the past me a heads up, so he wouldn't try to destroy his ties with this girl, almost destroying our future together.

I knew, though, that in the end, even if given the chance, I wouldn't go back and give myself the warning. Getting here had been both frustrating and scary at times, but the end result was worth every minute of it. And now I absolutely knew what I had with Bella, what I could lose if I ever screwed up and forgot how important she was.

She saved me from myself when no one else could. My past, present, and my future, all rolled up in one beautiful package. My hopes and dreams for the future were in her hands and I could only hope they'd be safe there. I'd almost lost her once and I knew I'd do anything I had to, to protect her in the future.

In my darkest hour, when my world shattered into a million little pieces, she was the light that pulled me back from the darkness waiting to engulf me. I knew that without her I'd now just be a hollow shell of myself. She was my savior, my strength, she was all the best parts of me. She was my salvation...

**A/N:**

_So, what did you think? Did it give you warm happy feelings? Or not so much?_ How about giving me the warm happy feelings by leaving me a review? lol

At any rate, almost done now. One more chapter left. I'm feeling both a huge sense of relief and some sadness, as well. Still, I'll be happy to post the last chapter. Soon!

~TCG~


	50. End

**A/N:**

_Well, we're finally here. It's been a fun ride with you all. Thank you again to everyone who stuck with me through this. There's no way I would have stayed motivated without you all. :o)_

_I'm not sure how this chapter will go over, but I have to say that it is the one I've been looking forward to all of this time, so I'm hoping you all like it. _

_And without further ado..._

**Jacob**

"_James..." _

"_Jamessssss. Wake up."_

"mmmph. Shurrup," he mumbled, trying to get me to leave him alone.

"_James! Wake your fucking ass up you useless sack of shit. Wake. The. Fuck. Up."_ This time I was insistent. This time he would not ignore me.

Just as I knew he would, he jumped up out of bed, panic evident in his every movement as he tried to locate the source of the voice. My involuntary chuckle only caused him to freak out all the more.

"_Oh James. You should be used to me by now," _I said, taunting him for his fear.

Only after he had established that he really was alone in the room did he calm down and begin to breathe normally again. While his slow uptake never failed to annoy me, I had to admit that I did enjoy fucking with him.

We were each other's worst enemy, and yet we would never be able to escape each other. Well, James seemed to think he'd be able to rid himself of me one day, if he worked hard enough. I, however, knew better. I couldn't exist without him and there was no way I was going to let him exist without me, no way I was going to be reduced to nothingness. If it came down to it, I'd be sure to take James with me to the end.

James, upon establishing that the voice was coming from inside his own brain, tried to ignore me, something the doctors at this fucking place were teaching him to do. Fuckers. I'd kill them all if I had the chance.

Luckily for me, I had an advantage over James. He might have control over our physical body, but I could access his mind at any moment of any day, while being able to close him off to my own thoughts. He couldn't shut me off, couldn't block me from his thoughts and our surroundings. He had no weapons to use against me. The thought made me chuckle again, which had James sighing in frustration and dropping back on the bed.

Admittedly, it was pretty early in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet. But I had woken up, or as up as someone like me could be, and you know what they say, misery loves company.

"_Motherfucker. Don't think you can ignore me. Those pussy-ass doctors don't know what the fuck they're talking about. You know what ignoring me will get you. Are you prepared to deal with that?" _I taunted, playing on his fears.

This is what we'd come to, him ignore me and me forced to push all of his buttons to try to get a response. We'd had a working relationship once, and now we were reduced to daily skirmishes.

Once upon a time, we'd helped each other. I was there for him, taking over whenever his father beat him. Saving him from the violence that came with daddy dearest's love. When it got too hard for him, he called to me and I would face his father's wrath, and, in exchange, I'd get to take control for a while.

I soon realized, however, that I wasn't content with little bits here and there. I wanted more. After all, no one wants to be a non-entity all of their lives. So I started doing things to encourage daddy dearest's wrath. I started pushing boundaries, started seeking trouble. And first up on my to-do list was severing the relationship between James and the Cullens'. Those dickwads were nothing but trouble for me. So I burned that bridge, and just to be sure, I burned it again. Goodbye Cullens', you were assholes anyway.

The more trouble I caused, the more trouble James got into, the more time I had in control. The best part was, I had James convinced it was Edward fucking Cullen screwing with him and not the other way around. James kept getting into trouble because Edward was getting into trouble, and then blaming him for it, or so I had James convinced.

Nice of James to tune me out so thoroughly like that, allowing my little plan to work perfectly. And it was him tuning me out, not vice versa. That little worthless sack of shit didn't want to know what I was up to when I had control of our body. He was a pussy through and through. Couldn't face daddy dearest's punishments, couldn't face my little games.

Oh well, that's what happens when you're weak – you get dominated by the stronger players on the board.

I'd been keeping quiet, lulling James into a sense of security, letting him think I'd just leave him alone this time. And when he had almost drifted off to sleep again I took it upon myself to remind him that I was still here.

"_Smell that? You smell that?" _I said, quoting my favorite movie. James sighed, knowing what was coming.

"_Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that." _I didn't care that he wasn't playing along and supplying the other lines, I kept going anyway.

"_I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like...victory. Someday this war's gonna end..."_

He continued to ignore me. He was getting better at this. Throwing himself into this hopeless attempt to rid himself of me, he'd been avidly listening to and following the advice of his doctors in this Goddamn loony bin. Luckily for me, as he improved so did I.

"_Wanna know what I'll do if you continue to ignore me, James?" _I didn't bother waiting for a response, knowing one wasn't coming. _"We have an appointment with Doctor Donna today, wanna know all the things I'll do to her if you keep this farce up? Wanna know how I'll break her?" _

"Fuck you, asshole!" he yelled at me, unable to ignore my threats of violence.

Oh yes, he knew from experience what I was capable of. Unbidden and unstoppable, images of Bella's broken body flooded his consciousness, causing me to smile – well, smile as much as someone without a physical body can.

Little Bella. So much fun. But that bitch is what landed us into this damn fucking hospital in the first place. If it was the last thing I did, I'd repay her for that.

"_Still thinking of that bitch? Still pining for her, James? You are such a fucking weakling. No wonder your dad beat you. Look at you, you're fucking worthless. Still yearning for the bitch that put us here. Still unable to get her out of your Goddamned head. I'm tired of seeing pictures of that whore. Forget. About. Her."_

"Shut the fuck up! Don't you talk about her. You've done enough damage there, you don't get to talk about her with me," he yelled at me, letting his temper show. Too bad for him he was all talk and no walk.

"_James, you pathetic animal, one way or another we are going to get out of this place, and when we do I'm going to finish the job I started. So go ahead and kid yourself about this place helping you get rid of me as much as you want, but understand this – nothing, not even you, is going to stop be from paying that bitch back for this. Act as protective and remorseful as you want, but in the end it's not going to be enough to save her from me." _

He answered with a frustrated growl. "Aaaa..."

**James**

"...hhhhh!" I practically yelled in my anger, not caring whether I woke any of the staff up or not.

How did you fight someone who lived in your head, knew all of your darkest secrets, and fought dirty?

The answer was obvious - you didn't. I couldn't see how I was going to win this, not when he had access to all of my thoughts as I was thinking them. Not when he knew more about me than even I did. He'd spent years gathering information to use against me in case this day ever came, and I was defenseless. Not only was I defenseless, but I'd given him a weapon to use against me.

Bella.

Of course, the way my life went I would fall in love with the one girl I couldn't have. She belonged to Edward, and part of me knew that she deserved better than me, but the other part of me longed for her so much it actually hurt. From the moment I saw her standing at her locker I knew I wanted her. Then she opened her mouth, not taking a second of shit from me, responding to me with witty retorts that were meant to tell me she knew my game and wasn't playing it, and I knew there was more to her than just the physical package. And for a little while it seemed like I had a shot.

We had chemistry, right from the start. She got my humor in a way most people didn't, and she wasn't afraid to give me shit back. I let myself think that maybe returning to Forks hadn't been such a bad thing, after all. I mean, I could have put up with my dad's shit if it meant that Bella would be the light at the end of my tunnel. Maybe this would be my second chance. Maybe life wouldn't be so damn shitty anymore.

Enter Edward Cullen.

It always came back to Edward. Always. This time, though, he was ruining the _only_ thing that had ever actually mattered to me. He was ruining my last chance and I couldn't let him do that.

Pounding on my door interrupted my thoughts and had me looking up, trying to decide how long I'd been zoning out for. It was obviously daylight now, which had me worried that I'd lost time to Jacob again. But, no, there were no blank spots in my memory. I guess I just hadn't realized how late it had gotten.

"James," Dr. Combs popped his head into my room. Seeing me awake he continued, "You have visitors, please get dressed and head down to the morning room."

As he ducked back out I called out, "Visitors?" in question. I was on lock-down and no one outside of my father was supposed to be allowed to see me for the first six months, and he'd rather be dead than caught anywhere near this place.

Dr. Combs left without an answer, causing me to get up and dressed out of sheer curiosity. I wanted to see who managed to get through my security to come in for a visit.

I trotted down to the morning room, wondering why it was called the morning room in the first place. I was on the ward reserved for violent patients, surrounded by bars on all the windows, furniture screwed down to the floor so as not to be used as weapons, and everywhere locked doors. The name "morning room" made you expect lots of windows and bright colors and lightness, instead it was a windowless room painted ecru with a couple of chairs and a dingy, beat up table screwed down to the floor. Well, it didn't have windows facing out, it did have them on the inside wall so that staff could keep an eye on patients while they were in there. Nothing particularly cheerful about the morning room.

It was off-limits to patients, though, unless they had a visitor. Which meant that I'd only ever seen it from the outside, as I'd yet to have a visitor. My curiosity got the better of me, almost making me forget about Jacob. Almost.

Turning the corner, I walked through the door and into the room, the stupid slippers I was forced to wear in place of shoes offering the only sound as I crossed through the doorway. Once in, I froze in place, coming face to face with Carlisle and Alice Cullen. Nothing had prepared me for their presence here.

"How did you get in here?" I asked sullenly, wishing they had skipped this little reunion.

"Doctor Combs is a friend of mine. We did our residency together. He allowed us to come in for a short visit," Carlisle answered.

I eyed them warily, wondering what they were here for. Inside my head, I could hear Jacob's ever present voice whisper, "_To crucify you in person, James. Why else would they visit your worthless ass?"_ As I'd been learning to do, I tuned him out and concentrated on the room around me.

"What do you want?" I spit out, deciding to get right to the point.

"We wanted to check up on you, to see how your progress was coming," Carlisle answered.

As Alice seemed content to watch our conversation without actually participating, I ignored her and instead focused on Carlisle. "Well, here I am. Got your fill? All right, good. Don't bother stopping back for another visit, I'm fine without you checking up on me," I said, as I turned around to head out the door I'd only just entered.

And still, the voice in my head taunted, _"Coward. Can't even face them, can you? You're the worst kind of weakling."_

"Wait, James. Please. We're here now, what harm will it do to sit down with us for a visit?"

I paused on my way out, turning to try to gauge his sincerity. I couldn't imagine them really being here to check up on me after everything that had happened, more likely they were here to give me shit. However, Carlisle looked like he was telling the truth so slowly I turned around and took a seat at the table closest to the door, deciding I could always leave if I didn't like what they had to say.

"How are you, James?" Carlisle asked, taking the seat across from me as he did.

Alice was standing in the far corner of the room, leaning against the wall, facing me. Her presence here confused me as she didn't seem to have any interest in participating in the conversation. Thinking it best to ignore her, I answered Carlisle. "As good as someone can be, when they have a homicidal voice sharing space with them in their head."

"_Whine, whine, whine. You should have been born a fucking girl, that way you'd at least have an excuse for being such a pussy." _

I ignored the voice. If there was one thing I learned during the weeks I've been in this damn place it was that I was going to have to get very good at ignoring the voice. Lord knows, I was going to have plenty of time to practice doing so.

"Do you think the treatment here has been helping?" Carlisle asked.

"_As if you could ever get rid of me,"_ the voice said.

Rather than answer him, I turned my head and stared out the window into the hallway, noticing for the first time the guard outside our room. Guess they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get violent. For a minute I had trouble breathing as the realization hit me that I had no real control over whether I got violent or not. As long as Jacob existed inside of me I would always be a danger to anyone around me.

"_That's right, because I'm the strong one here. I'm in control, just like I was with your little whore, Bella."_

"Shut up," I said, before I could stop myself.

Alice reacted to my words by taking a step towards Carlisle, as if to protect him should I get violent, which was funny when you considered it. As if she could protect anyone, being about half the average person's size and all.

"_Yeah, just think about how breakable she is. She'd be an amusing distraction, but not as much fun as Bella. No, Bella offers more of a challenge. You should have seen her, James – should have seen how she fought back. There was so much willpower there, so much determination. One day I'm going to have the chance to break that strong spirit of hers, but not until I've had plenty of time to play with her. Be good, James, and I'll let you have some playtime, too."_

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I yelled, as I shook my head in an attempt to dislodge that damn voice. He knew just what buttons to push to get a reaction and I knew he was loving bringing me low like this in front of Alice and Carlisle.

"James?" Carlisle asked. "Can we do anything to help? Want us to get one of your doctors?"

Determined to get control of the situation again, I shook me head, no. Realizing I'd stood up at some point, I took my seat again, and in doing so noticed the guard from outside had positioned himself inside the room, ready to react if needed. Good, at least I wouldn't be able to hurt either of them.

"Look, can we make this fast? You being here only makes things harder for me," I said, not caring if I sounded rude. It was too soon for this; I didn't have enough control yet.

"So it's true then? You really do have Multiple Personality Disorder?" Alice asked, finally speaking.

"I have a constant voice inside my head, whether that means I have Multiple Personality Disorder or not, I have no idea," I answered back.

She hesitated, staring at me as if trying to find some kind of answer written on my face. "How long?" she finally asked. I had the feeling that this was the question she'd come here to ask.

Looking her in the eyes I answered, "Since I was about eight."

"And everything that happened? The car, the locker, the dog?" she asked.

"All him," I answered honestly, feeling like if nothing else she deserved to know what happened. "I didn't even know it was happening. I'd just have these periods of time that I wouldn't be able to access, once I came back to myself. I didn't know what I'd been doing while he was in control. And he had me convinced that Edward was out to get me, that he'd been making stuff up to try to get me shipped out of town."

Amazingly, the expression on her face was one of sadness. Of all the things I expected upon encountering them here, this was not one of them. "I'm sorry, James. I'm sorry we missed it. We just thought that you'd fallen in with the wrong crowd and that you'd changed. We never guessed that it was something bigger than that."

"_Lies. All lies. She doesn't care about you, she's just trying to ease her guilt. That's all. No one could care about someone like you, James. No one."_

It was easier to ignore the voice when he went after me instead of Bella. After all, I'd been dealing with this particular brand of abuse for as long as I could remember, compliments of my dad.

"It's my own fault," I answered. "I let him in, let him take over. It was easier than having to deal with what was happening in my life. I shouldn't have taken the easy way out."

"What was happening, James?" Carlisle asked.

"It doesn't matter now. It doesn't excuse anything that happened."

"_That's right, cause you know you're really to blame for what happened. You were weak. You couldn't stand up to daddy dearest and you couldn't stand up to me. You're weak James. Always have been, always will be, and one day that will be your downfall. One day you will be the voice in the head and I'll be the one in control."_

Of course he would have access to all of my deepest fears. Knowing that he would continue to antagonize me for as long as Alice and Carlisle were around I stood up, determined to end this little reunion.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I have to go."

Carlisle stood up, too, and I sighed with relief as it looked like they were actually going to let me go this time.

"I'd like to stop by periodically, to check on you and to talk once in a while. Would that be okay?" Carlisle asked.

Knowing I'd probably have no other visitors while in here, I reluctantly shook my head yes.

"James," Alice said, before I had a chance to leave.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," I answered honestly before walking out the door, not bothering to look back.

I knew this would most likely be the last time I saw Alice. Carlisle had asked about coming back, but I could see on Alice's face that this would be her last visit. She needed some answers and she'd gotten them. She had her closure, now it was time for her to move on.

I didn't bother asking her to tell Bella that I was sorry. I knew better than that. Bella wouldn't be ready for apologies, and anything coming from me now would just seem like a lie to her. Anyway, there was no way sorry could cover everything I'd put her through.

Back in my room, I flopped down on my bed, knowing I wouldn't have long before someone came to find me, to shuffle me to whatever therapy I had scheduled for the day. As usual whenever I had down time, I thought about Bella.

I hoped she was okay. I hoped she'd be able to put what I'd done to her behind her. I knew Edward would be key in helping her do so and despite everything that happened, that still gave me a pang. I couldn't help that I'd fallen for her, couldn't help that I was jealous of Edward, even as I knew that I didn't deserve to breathe the same air as her.

I thought of what could have been, if I'd just been a normal teenager. Thought about what could have happened if I hadn't had the history with Edward that I did. If I'd been able to get to know Bella on my own terms, if I could have proved to her that I was worth her affection. A tear slid down my cheek as I thought of everything I was missing out of, thanks to Jacob.

"_That's right, pussy, go ahead and cry. You make this too easy for me. Too easy."_

"Shut the fuck up. Easy is one thing this will not be, because I swear to you, I will fight you with my dying breath. If for nothing other than Bella's sake, you will not win this, I swear it. So back off, motherfucker," I spat out, having reached my limit.

I turned over and waited for a response, but none came. Maybe he realized he'd already pushed me too far.

I closed my eyes and imagined Bella, not as I'd last seen her but as I first seen her. I pictured her back at her locker that day we first met. I remembered our conversation, our teasing. Doing so brought a smile to my face. Somehow I'd fallen for her in such a short time. Something about her just called to me in a way that soothed my soul. I knew that for as long as I lived, I'd never find someone who had that kind of effect on me.

She was everything to me. Beautiful, sexy, honest, witty, smart, innocent, perfect. Everything I was not. She was the only thing I ever wanted for myself. I knew that she could have been the light at the end of my tunnel. She could have saved me from myself if we had just had the chance. Without Edward, without the Cullens en masse, without Jacob, she could have made me whole again. She could have been my salvation but, instead, she'd been my downfall...

**A/N:**

_So, what did you think? I know it's the last chapter and so there's no real reason to review, but I'd appreciate it if you all took a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you thought...both of the final chapter and the story as a whole._

_Now, a little announcement. Possibly, I'll be doing a little mini-sequel. I've been wavering back and forth for some time and had finally settled on not doing one, but now I'm kind of in the mood. I don't think I want to make it a full story, like this one, but I think I can write it up as a mini-sequel. I'm going to work on the first chapter and if I like it when I'm done I'll post it and continue on with writing the sequel. If I do, I'll post the first chapter at the end of this story, so if you've subscribed to this you'll get a notice so you won't have to keep popping back looking for a new story._

_And, finally, I have a lot of thanks to get to. :o) You all didn't think I'd skip out on you, did you? lol. Here we go..._

_Thanks you to my regular reviewer, who have kept me motivated. And a BIG thanks to my earliest regular reviewers, who have stuck by me from this story's conception: misstetah and Missie33.  
_

_Thanks to_ _some of my earlier regulars, some of which I'm not sure will see this but I wanted to thank them anyway: iLikeLlamas2011, , RieDonovan._

_Thanks to all of my current regulars: Yeye85, flyrbrd, Amylovesdinosaurs, EC4me, EvE656721, Twhylitelvr77, ao88._

_And thanks to my friends, who have helped me work through any issues I encountered while writing this: AmandaCullen84 (.net/u/1810180/AmandaCullen84) and delliah53 (.net/u/1815164/dellia53), both of whom are writers on this site, both of whom are on my favorite author page...go read their stories (add www . fanfiction to their addresses, as it cuts it off when I save it...or just go to my favorites page) . I promise, they're worth it! ;o) Also, thanks to my friend Gina, who might not be reading this but who help a lot with the Charity Gala section. _

_If I missed you, I'm sorry! I tried to get all of the regulars, but I know I probably didn't get everyone, so I'm sorry if you were missed! It wasn't on purpose._

_Okay...thanks everyone!_

_~TheCornerGirl~  
_


	51. The Broken Girl Teaser

**A/N:**

_Okay, so, sequel is in the works. This is just a little bit of a teaser for you all - the first chapter in its entirety should be up within the next few days. A couple of things..._

_Although it is a sequel I'll be writing it so that anyone who hasn't read His Salvation will still be able to follow along without being confused (I hope). The characters will be the same characters from His Salvation, though, just a couple of years older._

_This is a big one, the tone for this story will be a lot different. I'm hoping that those of you who loved His Salvation will enjoy this as well, but I'm warning you that there will be big differences from His Salvation. It's the only way I could continue on with that particular story, though. _

_Anyway, let me know what you think! _**  
**

**The Broken Girl**

**Bella**

_"Bella? Bella!"_

_"Oh my god, Emmett. I think she's…"_

_"Call 911, Rose! Hurry!"_

_"Come on, baby girl. Hold on for…can…please…"_

_"They're coming. Oh, god, Em. We should hav…"_

_"…we couldn't have known. She's like Edward, too good at hiding things."_

_"I have to call…"_

_"…wait till we're at the hospital, till we know more."_

_"Please, please, let them hurry."_

_"Come on Bells, don't do this to us. Don't leave us, baby girl..."_

* * *

I was being pulled under, without hope. The tide was too strong and I knew instinctively that this was the end. My body would gasp for breath one last traitorous time, allowing the cold, dark waters that surrounded me to claim me as their own, forever more. Despair and anger welled up inside me. Knowing this was going to be my final fate, a bitterness so strong overwhelmed me, so much so that I could almost taste it. Imagining my parents reaction upon hearing of my death, imagining their despair, I knew for their sake I'd have to try one last desperate time.

The current drug me along, slamming my body into a large boulder on the river floor, causing a jolt of pain along my entire right side. The pain reminded me that I was still alive, still fighting. Using the last of my strength, I slammed my feet into the riverbed bellow me, pushing myself up with everything I had. Kicking ferociously, I swam up, desperately hoping I'd make the surface in time. But as my lungs screamed out their resistance, with the light from the surface still so far away, I knew I'd never make it. As my body began to convulse I cried out one last time knowing that the sound would never reach human ears. My mouth opened and I gasped as the cold water slid down my throat, and I knew death was coming for me.

As I began to lose consciousness I heard a noise that was incongruous with the violence of the river surrounding me. Over the noise of the waters rushing past me, and now through me, in me, a part of me, I could faintly make out a "beep...beep...beep" noise. I had only a half second to register this oddity before unconsciousness came, and death finally claimed me for her own.

**A/N:**

_Drop me a line or two letting me know if you think this would be something you'd be interested in reading. I'm trying to keep this open for a large audience, but I definitely care what my His Salvation fans think. Thanks, guys! :o)_


	52. The Broken Girl Chapter One

**Twilight and all of its characters were created by Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N:**

**__****If you're coming into this as a His Salvation fan, please note that this story will be a lot different and a lot darker. It's a couple of years in the future and a lot has happened in that time, most of which will unfold for us throughout this story. As I've warned before, it's the only way I could revisit this particular story. I am going to do my best to keep my characters true to themselves, as I think the characters are what everyone loved from His Salvation, but they have a lot to work through first, lol. However, as always I have a plan. ;o)  
**

_This is actually a sequel to my story His Salvation, but as that's a very long story and the first part of it kind of flounders, I have a hard time justifying making new readers go back and read it before coming here. So, although this will be written as a sequel it will also be written in a way that allows it to stand alone. There are a couple of years difference for the characters between the two stories, which help to make them separate stories. I honestly don't think anyone reading this who did not read the previous story will have a hard time keeping up - they'll be such different stories that it might actually be easier on you.  
_

_Having said that, here are a couple of things that new readers should know coming into this story, and past readers might need refreshing on. First, Edward and Alice are twins who were adopted by Esme and Carlisle - they have toned down versions of their powers. Emmett was adopted shortly after them. Rose and Jasper are brother and sister - their parents died and they went to live with Esme, who is their aunt, and Carlisle. And I think that brings us up to date with any pertinent information for this story. There might be some confusing areas in this first chapter, but they'll be confusing to everyone and not just new readers. Questions about the characters pasts and why everyone is where they're at will be answered throughout this story._

_I'll try to keep future A/N sections short and sweet. _

_Thanks._

**Bella: Phoenix, Arizona.**

_"Bella? Bella!"_

_"Oh my god, Emmett. I think she's…"_

_"Call 911, Rose! Hurry!"_

_"Come on, baby girl. Hold on for…can…please…"_

_"They're coming. Oh, god, Em. We should hav…"_

_"…we couldn't have known. She's like Edward, too good at hiding things."_

_"I have to call…"_

_"…wait till we're at the hospital, till we know more."_

_"Please, please, let them hurry."_

_"Come on Bells, don't do this to us. Don't leave us, baby girl..."_

I was being pulled under, without hope. The tide was too strong and I knew instinctively that this was the end. My body would gasp for breath one last traitorous time, allowing the cold, dark waters that surrounded me to claim me as their own, forever more. Dispair and anger welled up inside me. Knowing this was going to be my final fate, a bitterness so strong overwhelmed me, so much so that I could almost taste it. Imagining my parents reaction upon hearing of my death, imagining their dispair, I knew for their sake I'd have to try one last desperate time.

The current drug me along, slamming my body into a large boulder on the river floor, causing a jolt of pain along my entire right side. The pain reminded me that I was still alive, still fighting. Using the last of my strength, I slammed my feet into the riverbed bellow me, pushing myself up with everything I had. Kicking ferociously, I swam up, desperately hoping I'd make the surface in time. But as my lungs screamed out their resistance, with the light from the surface still so far away, I knew I'd never make it. As my body began to convulse I cried out one last time knowing that the sound would never reach human ears. My mouth opened and I gasped as the cold water slid down my throat, and I knew death was coming for me.

As I began to lose consciousness I heard a noise that was incongruous with the violence of the river surrounding me. Over the noise of the waters rushing past me, and now through me, in me, a part of me, I could faintly make out a "beep...beep...beep" noise. I had only a half second to register this oddity before unconsciousness came, and death finally claimed me for her own.

I awoke, gasping for air, feeling as if I hadn't breathed in an eternity. Relief over finding myself alive was quickly replaced by the fear that I wouldn't be staying that way for long. Coughs racked my body, and I had just enough time to register that I had somehow found myself laying in a bed when I leaned over it and vomited all over the floor. Tears streamed down my face, both from fear and pain. My body, though alive, was in bad shape.

I felt a hand gently rub my back as a familiar voice made soothing noises from behind me, in what I knew was an attempt to calm me. My vomiting turned to dry heaves, which eventually let up. Slowly, I caught my breath again and opened my eyes. I looked down at the floor under the bed to see that I had vomited a dark gritty substance, and wondered if it had come from the river that had almost taken my life. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I was finally able to lean back and take in my surroundings.

It had been Rose's hand on my back, waiting patiently as I regained control over my body. "It's okay, Bella, we're here," she said soothingly, as she moved her hand from my back around to grasp my hand.

Behind her, standing silhouetted in front of a window across the room, stood Emmett, looking paler and more frightened than I'd ever seen. His eyes, normally full of laughter, looked haunted, and I could see he was having a hard time meeting my gaze.

I didn't bother talking, instead I took in the room around me. The beeping of the machines around me, the tubes hooked up to me, let me know without having to ask that I was in a hospital. I closed my eyes as panic set in, but forced it down as I asked the question I needed answered. "My parents," I croaked, my throat raw, feeling as if I had swallowed fire. "Did someone tell them I was rescued? That I didn't drown? Is Charlie here?"

A long, tense silence was all the answer I got. Confused, I opened my eyes to look over at Rose and Em, both of whom looked even more frightened now than they had a minute ago. "What's wrong," I asked. "Where are they?"

"Bella, what are you talking about?" Rose asked, hesitantly.

"My dad, Charlie... is he here? Did someone call my mom?" I repeated, not sure what was going on.

"Bells... your parents are dead, they have been for a while now... remember? And you didn't drown, baby girl, you tried to kill yourself. You swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills, right?" Emmett answered.

"What?" I asked, scared now and confused. "No, that's not right. I was... I was in a river and I was drowning. The water was crushing me and I didn't think I'd ever get out..." I trailed off, realizing I didn't actually know how I had managed to get out. And then it hit me, there had been no river, it had been dream, a nightmare, which meant...

"Oh, God. My parents are dead. I forgot that my parents are dead. How could I forget?" And just like that my world shattered again, as it had a million times over the past few years, as it forever would. My parents weren't here to comfort me because they couldn't be, they were both dead, and I was still alone.

Grief washed over me as the tears came. I knew how it had to look, crying like this when my parents had been dead for so long now, but I didn't care. The despair was too strong for me to fight. I rolled away from Rose and curled up in a ball, wrapping my body up with my arms as I tried to make myself as small as possible.

Rose climbed up onto the bed behind me, wrapping herself protectively around my body. Emmett came around to the other side of the bed, grabbing my hand before leaning over, touching his forehead to my own, stroking my hair gently as he did. "You're not alone, Bells. We're here for you. We'll always be here for you."

Through my tears I nodded my head, acknowledging his words. They were my family now, the only family I had left at this point. I was grateful for their presence in my life, even as the guilt of them being here with me overwhelmed me. As my tears began to fade I drifted off again into unconsciousness.

I slowly came awake again to voices talking in the room. I had no idea how long I'd been out for, but I felt sore and groggy, and I had to fight to maintain my precarious hold on consciousness. I laid there silently with my eyes close, just trying to get control over myself and absorb the situation. I could clearly hear Emmett's voice off in the corner, followed by Rose's and an unfamiliar voice. I gathered the third voice to be that of the doctor.

"Physically, she should be fine. You got to her in time to keep the medication she swallowed from damaging her organs, but someone from psych will be down to talk to her once she wakes up, and whether or not she'll be released will be dependent on how that goes. I'd expect her to be admitted for at least forty-eight hours, though, to be monitored," the voice belonging to the doctor said.

"What about after that?" Rose asked.

"It will depend on whether she's deemed a threat to herself. I'm sorry, that's all I can tell you at this point. Let one of the nurses know when she wakes and someone will be down from psych to review her file," the doctor answered before heading out the door, shutting it behind himself.

I didn't have the energy to deal with what I knew would most likely be an emotional scene upon my waking, so I laid there and continued to pretend I was still asleep. The numbness that had gone away in that brief moment before I remembered my parents death was back, settling over me like a heavy woolen blanket, ever weighing me down. The sadness had returned, my constant enemy. At least I was back in familiar territory.

I thought about having to spend the next forty-eight hours in this place and felt the panic welling up, but even that took too much energy to sustain, so instead I resigned myself to being stuck here for a while.

My hatred and fear of hospitals hadn't always been a problem for me. Once upon a time I'd even seen them as good places, places you would go to get healed. Not anymore. Too many bad things happened in my life within the walls of these so-called healing institutes. Now they just represented everything I hated about my life.

"What are we going to do?" Emmett whispered, obviously still unaware that I had woken up.

"I called Esme, she's flying out here tomorrow," Rose answered.

"And what does she think she can do that we haven't already tried?" There was just the faintest trace of bitterness in Emmett's voice as he spoke, and not for the first time I felt overwhelming guilt over what I'd put him and Rose through.

If I could just be normal again... why was that so much to ask? But no, I'd become this shell of a person, not quite living and unable to even find the energy to try. And as I sank under I had brought Emmett and Rose with me, the two people on this earth who I would do almost anything for, the only two people I had left to love. And instead of protecting them, as they deserved, I'd put them through hell.

I made a promise to myself that no matter what happened, that as soon as I got out of the hospital I'd remove myself from their lives. I wouldn't continue to hurt them like this. I wouldn't bring them down with me.

"I don't know, Em," Rose quietly answered Emmett's bitter question, "but we need help here. We're losing her, maybe we're even too late already. She's just wasting away here with us, and I think the only reason she waited this long to try something was for our sake. But we're not enough, and I'm not willing to let her go without trying everything in our power to help her, and I think Esme will know what to do. I think she'll know what Bella needs to be able to pull through this."

"We're not leaving her, though," Emmett replied, the vehemence in his voice catching me off guard. I would have thought that they'd be ready to rid their life of the problem that was me, but apparently not. They were too loyal for their own good. "Whatever happens, whatever Esme says, we're not leaving her."

"No, we're a family, a team, and that's not going to change anytime soon. We stick together, as we always do."

I was going to open my eyes and argue with them, to ask them how they could want to stick with me after everything I had put them through, but in the end I knew it would just be easier if I slipped quietly out of their lives. They'd never let me go on their own, it was time for me to forcefully remove myself. And as something close to determination settled over me, I drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke again it was to a soft hand stroking my hair. I knew without having to open my eyes that it wasn't Rose's this time. While Rose comforted when she thought I needed it, it was always somewhat hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure she was doing it right. This touch, however, felt different; confident and yet still very caring, and just like that recognition struck me.

"Esme," I whispered, before I could stop myself.

"I'm here, love. I'm here," she answered.

I opened my eyes to see her sitting on a chair next to the bed, leaning over me, her familiar smile subdued, but still there. I hadn't seen her in years, but she looked almost exactly the same. Maybe there were a few more lines around her eyes, but she still looked every bit as beautiful as she ever did.

I sat up, pulling away from her as I did and, with a sigh, she let me. I must have slept straight through the night right into the next afternoon sometime by the look of the light coming in through the window. We were alone in my room, and I wondered how she'd convinced Rose and Em to leave me, but was glad she had. They'd need a break from me, from this.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"We just got in about an hour ago."

"We?" I asked.

"Carlisle is with me."

I was surprised at that, having assumed he'd stay behind because of work. After a second of thought, I took this to be a good sign. If Carlisle was with her they wouldn't be staying long; he'd never be able to pull himself away from the hospital back home for more than a day or two on such short notice.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Out speaking to your doctor, and probably trying to convince Rose and Emmett to go home and rest for a bit."

Again, the guilt rose up in me. Their life would have been so much better if I'd have managed to finish the job last night, like I had intended. Those damn pills hadn't worked fast enough; next time, though, I'd be better prepared.

"How are you feeling, Bella?"

"I'm fine," I lied. "It was just a stupid mistake, nothing to worry about and certainly not a big enough deal to have you fly all the way out here."

"Bella, Carlisle and I have had a long talk with Rose and Emmett and we know that you're far from fine right now, hun. I'm sorry, I know you're going to want to push this off as if it's no big deal, but it is. You're not fine, you need help, which is why we're here."

"Esme, no, it's really not a big deal. I just need some rest and I'll be back to my normal self again. Please, you and Carlisle should just go back home. I'd hate to see you stuck out here because of this."

"You are going to rest and you will be fine again, but it will be back home with us," she answered, and although her voice was a sweet as ever, I could hear the determination behind her words.

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused.

"It's already been settled. Carlisle talked to your doctors here and they've agreed to release you into our care. They'll still have to talk to you, but that's just a formality. We've already bought your plane ticket, you're going to fly home and stay with us for the summer and if you're doing better come fall, and up for it again, you can fly back out here in time for your senior year."

"No, I'm not flying back with you. Can you even make me do that? The doctors surely don't have that kind of control over my life," I said, panic washing over me now. I couldn't go back there, not now, not like this.

"We believe you need help, love, and we'll do what we have to to ensure that you receive that help." The way she said it sounded so final that I drooped back onto the bed, defeated.

"No," I lamely argued, "I... I'm not going, I'll..." But before I could come up with some argument as to why I wasn't going back with them the door opened and in walked Carlisle with what I assumed was my doctor.

Like Esme, Carlisle really hadn't changed over the years. He was still handsome, still had an open and honest face that made you feel as though you could trust him with your life. He walked right over to me, upon seeing that I was awake, and engulfed me in a big hug that reminded me of one of Emmett's bear hugs. "Hey. We were worried about you, kiddo. Glad to see you're okay," he whispered in my ear.

When he was done with the hug, he stepped back and out of the way of the doctor, a man who looked to be in his fifties, with sandy hair and a kind face. "Hello, Ms. Swan. I'm Dr. Richman. I was the one to admit you last night."

"Hi," I said awkwardly.

"You swallowed a bottle of Xanax last night, and we had to pump your stomach, as well as administer charcoal to you, just as a precautionary measure." So that was the dark gritty substance I had thrown up last night, I thought to myself.

"After talking with Dr. Cullen here, and his wife, we've decided to release you today. You'll still need a quick evaluation, but the Cullens have assured us that they'll be keeping an eye on you and making sure you seek treatment for your depression."

"But what if I don't want to go with them?" I asked. "I mean, they live in Washington. Wouldn't it be easier for me to get treatment here, in Phoenix?"

"We're not convinced, and neither are the doctors here, that left on your own you'll actually seek treatment, Bella," Esme answered.

"I'm not flying back there just on your say so," I said, with what determination I could muster.

"Then what about for our sake?" Came a quiet voice from the doorway, which I instantly recognized as Rose's. "Would you do it for us?" she asked again, the plea in her voice apparent.

"Rose," I hedged, looking over at her. But I could see tears in her eyes and I knew that for her and Em's sake I'd give in, even though I didn't want to. With a big sigh I shook my head in agreement, before looking away as my own tears spilled down my cheeks. Esme clasped my hand and I could hear the doctor messing with my what I assumed was my charts as he gathered himself up and left the room.

It seemed that, for better or worse, I was heading back to Forks, Washington; the one place I'd promised myself I'd never see again. I laid back down on the bed and stopped trying to fight the tears, allowing them to run unchecked down my face, mourning the life I that I'd almost had but lost, the life that I was now going to have to confront again. My only relief was that Edward was far away, living in New York City, where'd he'd be completely unaware of my sad return home.

**A/N:**

_I'd love to hear what you thought of this first chapter, whether you followed His Salvation or are new to these characters. Thanks!_

_For those of you reading this at the end of His Salvation, the new story is up now. All further updates to it will take place there from now on.  
_

_Chapter 2 is already in the works._


End file.
